The bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay can be used as an indicator of molecular approximation and/or interaction. A significant resonance energy transfer signal is generated when the acceptor, having the appropriate spectral overlap with the donor emission, is approximated with the donor. In the example provided, proteins tagged with bioluminescent Renilla luciferase (Rlu) as donor and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) as acceptor were co-expressed in cells. This pair of donor and acceptor have an approximate Förster distance of 4.4 nm, providing the optimal working distance (Dacres et al., 2010). This technique can be used to explore the time-course of specific molecular interactions that occur in living cells.
Keywords: BRET assay; Coelenterazine h; Molecular approximation/interaction; Renilla luciferase; Yellow fluorescent protein.