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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Aug 30.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2009;11:25–47. doi: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-061008-124920

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Imaging the distribution of β-actin mRNA in living fibroblasts using molecular beacons. Tetramethylrhodamine (TMR)-labeled β-actin mRNA-specific molecular beacons and Texas Red–labeled control molecular beacons complexed with streptavidin were microinjected into cells. The fluorescence signals in the TMR (a) and Texas Red (b) channels were detected, and a ratio image (c) was obtained by dividing the fluorescence intensity of TMR by that of Texas Red at every pixel in the image, indicating the localization of β-actin mRNA. The color of each pixel in (c) reflects the value of the ratio, with warmer colors representing higher ratios and cooler colors representing lower ratios.