ABSTRACT
The Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) appeared on the scientific arena in 1962, when Shimomura et al.
first purified the companion protein of the chemiluminescent aequorin from the jellyfish
Aequorea Victoria
and observed its fluorescence in solution. The subsequent spectral characterization
showed that GFP absorbs blue light and emits green light, working as the converter of the blue chemoluminescence of aequorin in the greenish bioluminescence of the jellyfish. Evolution and natural selection produced an efficient, highly specialized nano-sized optical device that
Aequorea Victoria
and other organisms have been successfully using for millions of years. This “evolution-driven optimization” is probably at the basis of GFP success in biotechnology. Indeed, the amount of work and publications on GFPs exponentially increased from the 1960s and a vast literature was produced.
