Team:Carnegie Mellon/KillerRed

KillerRed is a red fluorescent protein that produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of yellow-orange light (540-585 nm). KillerRed is engineered from anm2CP to be phototoxic. It has been shown that KillerRed produces superoxide radical anions by reacting with water. Superoxide reacts with the chromophore of KillerRed, causing it to become dark, which ultimately gives rise to a bleaching effect. KillerRed is spectrally similar to mRFP1 with a similar brightness. KillerRed is oligomeric and may form large aggregates in cells. Expression of KillerRed and irradiation with light may act a kill-switch for biosafety applications.