Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a technique that allows vis

Question

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a technique that allows visualization of diffusion within the membrane. You set out to perform FRAP using four different samples of cells. In sample 1, you have fluorescently labeled a phospholipid. In samples 2, 3, and 4 you have fluorescently labeled membrane proteins X, Y, and Z, respectively. You photobleach an area of the membrane in each sample and record the rate of recovery of fluorescence. The data you obtain are shown in the graphs below: A. Using the data from these graphs, list the proteins in order of their ability to diffuse in the membrane, from fastest to slowest. B. Given the data on the graphs above, is the following statement a good hypothesis: protein X and protein Z are always present in the cell as part of the same protein complex? Explain your answer.

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

(A) X diffuses the fastest, followed by Z, with Y barely diffusing at all.

(The faster the recovery of fluorescence in the bleached area, the greater the diffusion coefficient of the protein and the faster the protein diffuses.)

b) It is unlikely that X and Z are part of the same protein complex because then the rate of diffusion of X and Z should be the same.

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