Probing Nucleic Acid Interactions and Pre-mRNA Splicing by Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Microscopy

Abstract

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is a powerful technique routinely used to monitor interactions between biomolecules. Here, we focus on the techniques that are used for investigating the structure and interactions of nucleic acids (NAs). We present a brief overview of the most commonly used FRET microscopy techniques, their advantages and drawbacks. We list experimental approaches recently used for either in vitro or in vivo studies. Next, we summarize how FRET contributed to the understanding of pre-mRNA splicing and spliceosome assembly.

Keywords

• FRET
• FLIM
• acceptor photobleaching
• RNA interactions
• spliceosome