mCherry

mCherry is a member of the mFruits family of monomeric red fluorescent proteins (mRFPs). As an RFP, mCherry was derived from DsRed of Discosoma sea anemones, unlike green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) which are often derived from Aequorea victoria jellyfish. Fluorescent proteins are used to tag components in cells so that they can be studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. mCherry absorbs light between 540 and 590 nm and emits light in the range of 550-650 nm. mCherry belongs to the group of fluorescent protein chromophores used as instruments to visualize genes and analyze their functions in experiments. Genome editing has been improved greatly through the precise insertion of these fluorescent protein tags into the genetic material of many diverse organisms. Most comparisons between the brightness and photostability of different fluorescent proteins have been made in vitro, removed from biological variables that affect protein performance in cells or organisms. It is hard to perfectly simulate cellular environments in vitro, and the difference in environment could have an effect on the brightness and photostability.

mRFPs—like mCherry—are useful because they have a lower molecular weight and fold faster than tetramers, which results in reduced disturbance of the target system.