Grey Fox Lung Cells with mEmerald-MAP4 and mApple-H2B
The grey fox, compared to the rest of the canids, has the unique ability to climb trees - a skill only shared with the Asian raccoon dog. Its powerful, hooked claws make it possible for the grey fox to escape predators like coyotes by quickly climbing up trees, or to attain tree-bound or arboreal food sources. The grey fox is nocturnal and inhabits hollow trees, stumps, or burrows during the daytime.
Microtubules in the featured fox lung cells were tagged with mEmerald fused to MAP4, a microtubule-associated protein. mEmerald is a variant of EGFP, an enhanced Aequorea derivative. The presence of four additional point mutations its parent protein does not have renders mEmerald brighter and more photostable than EGFP. Excitation and emission maxima of mEmerald occur at 487 and 509 nanometers, respectively.