Fluorescent and photo-oxidizing TimeSTAMP tags track protein fates in light and electron microscopy

Butko and colleagues report the invention of fluorescent and photo-oxidizing versions of a molecular probe named TimeSTAMP that allows temporal tagging of newly-synthesized proteins of interest. The study uses these new tools to track basal and pharmacologically induced synthesis of the synaptic protein PDS-95 in real time via live fluorescent imaging and/or with ultrastructural resolution using electron microscopy.