|
|
|
In the Q-balls class, GFP highlights the periphery of small spheroids. In many of these organelles, the peripheral shell of GFP is decorated by a single bright dot of flourescence, a pattern that resembles the letter Q on the appropriate sectional plane. It is not established what the identity of these organelles are, nor whether this class represents more that one subcellular target. The C-terminal sequences of some members of this class resemble some terminal sequences found in the torus class. Therefore, one possibility is that some Q-ball localization patterns may be the periphery of peroxisomes, or a class of peroxisomes. In some Q-ball lines, nested spheres of fluorescence and other bubble-like patterns are sometimes seen. These shapes resemble thermodynamically minimal structures, raising the suspicion that they may be artifacts caused by expression of the fusion protein. |
|