λN-GFP: an RNA reporter system for live-cell imaging

We describe a GFP-based RNA reporter system (λN-GFP) to visualize RNA molecules in live mammalian cells. It consists of GFP fused to an arginine-rich peptide derived from the phage λ N protein, λN22, which binds a unique minimal RNA motif and can be used to tag any RNA molecule. λN-GFP uses a small and easy to engineer RNA tag, reducing the likelihood of perturbing the function of the tagged RNA molecule.

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