Martin Chalfie

Martin Chalfie is an American neurobiologist who shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for demonstrating green fluorescent protein’s use as a genetically encoded marker in living cells.

Green fluorescent protein: A fluorescent protein first identified in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria that emits green light when excited by blue or ultraviolet light. Chalfie showed that GFP could mark proteins and cells without added substrates.
Osamu Shimomura: A Japanese-American marine biologist who isolated and characterized green fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria. His discovery supplied the protein Chalfie later used as a biological marker.
Aequorea victoria: A bioluminescent jellyfish native to the Pacific coast of North America. Its tissues were the original source of the GFP used in Chalfie’s work.
Fluorescence: Light emission by a substance after it absorbs light at a shorter wavelength. GFP labeling depends on this light-emission process.
Live-cell imaging: The observation of cellular structures and processes in living cells over time. GFP made many molecular events visible without killing the labeled cells.
Genetically encoded fluorescent tags: Fluorescent proteins genetically fused to target molecules or expressed in cells to make biological processes visible. Chalfie’s experiments helped establish this labeling strategy.
Roger Y. Tsien: An American chemist who developed fluorescent proteins and tools for imaging biological processes. His protein engineering extended the fluorescent toolkit associated with GFP.
GFP gene cloning: The isolation and copying of the gene encoding green fluorescent protein. A cloned gene made it possible to express GFP in organisms beyond the jellyfish.
Green fluorescent protein chromophore: The light-absorbing and light-emitting chemical group formed within the folded GFP protein. Its formation inside the protein lets GFP fluoresce without an externally supplied substrate.
Fluorescent protein engineering: The modification of fluorescent proteins to alter their color, brightness, stability, or other properties. GFP’s use as a marker spurred development of improved fluorescent variants.

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