Illuminating plant biology: using fluorescent proteins for high-throughput analysis of protein localization and function in plants

First discovered in jellyfish, fluorescent proteins (FPs) have been successfully optimized for use as effective biomarkers within living plant cells. When exposed to light, FPs fused to a protein or regulatory element will fluoresce, and non-invasively mark expression and protein localization, which allows for the in vivo monitoring of diverse cellular processes. In this review, we discuss how FP technology has evolved from small-scale analysis of individual genes to more high-throughput techniques for global expression and functional profiling in plants.