Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Nascent transcripts being copied from specific human genes can be detected using RNA FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) with intronic probes, and the distance between two different nascent transcripts is often measured when studying structure-function relationships. Such distance measurements are limited by the resolution of the light microscope. Here we describe methods for measuring these distances in cultured cells with a precision of a few tens of nanometers, using equipment found in most laboratories (i.e., a wide-field fluorescence microscope equipped with a charged-coupled-device camera). Using images of pairs of transcripts that are often co-transcribed, we discuss how selection of cell type, design of FISH probes, image acquisition, and image processing affect the precision that can be achieved.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.ymeth.2015.11.009

Type

Journal article

Journal

Methods

Publication Date

01/04/2016

Volume

98

Pages

150 - 157

Keywords

Colocalization, Diffraction limit, Inner-nuclear distance, Long gene, Nascent intronic RNA FISH, Super-resolution localization, Transcription location, Fluorescent Dyes, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, Introns, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Molecular Probes, RNA, Messenger, Repressor Proteins, Single Molecule Imaging, Software, Tissue Fixation, Transcription, Genetic