Live Cell Imaging of Cell Cycle and Division
How Premo™ FUCCI Cell Cycle Sensor Works
| The Premo™ FUCCI Cell Cycle Sensor consists of a fluorescent protein-based system that employs both a red (RFP) and a green (GFP) fluorescent protein fused to different regulators of the cell cycle: cdt1 and geminin. During the cell cycle, these two proteins are ubiquitinated by specific ubiquitin E3 ligases, which target them to the proteasome for degradation. The E3 ligases display temporal regulation of their activity which results in the biphasic cycling of geminin and cdt1levels during the cell cycle. In the G1 phase of the cell cycle, geminin is degraded; therefore, only cdt1 tagged with RFP is present and appears as red fluorescence within the nuclei. In the S, G2, and M phases, cdt1 is degraded and only geminin tagged with GFP remains, resulting in cells with green fluorescent nuclei. During the G1/S transition, when cdt1 levels are decreasing and geminin levels increasing, both proteins are present, and when the green and red images are overlaid, nuclei appear yellow fluorescent. This dynamic color change, from red-through-yellow-to-green, represents the progression through cell cycle and division (Figures 1 and 2). |
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Figure 2—Imaging cell cycle progression in live cells with Premo™ FUCCI Cell Cycle Sensor. U2OS cells were transduced with Premo™ FUCCI Cell Cycle Sensor and allowed to divided. Images were collected over a 15-hour timeframe. |
1. Sakaue-Sawano et al. (2008) Cell 132:487–498.
BacMam Technology
The BacMam system uses a modified insect cell virus (baculovirus) as a vehicle to efficiently deliver and express genes in mammalian cells with minimum effort and toxicity.
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BacMam Compatible Cells
BacMam reagents can be used in a variety of mammalian cell types. View the cell types that have been transduced using BacMam technology and learn how to optimize conditions for your cell type.
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