Genetic incorporation of a small, environmentally sensitive, fluorescent probe into proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Here, we report that the fluorescent amino acid, 3-(6-acetylnaphthalen-2-ylamino)-2-aminopropanoic acid (Anap), can be genetically incorporated into proteins in yeast with excellent selectivity and efficiency by means of an orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair. This small, environmentally sensitive fluorophore was site-specifically incorporated into Escherichia coli glutamine binding protein and used to directly probe local structural changes caused by ligand binding. The small size of Anap and the ability to introduce it by simple mutagenesis at defined sites in the proteome make it a useful local probe of protein structure, molecular interactions, protein folding, and localization.