Recombinant aequorin: A bioluminescent signal for molecular diagnostics

AquaLite(R) is the recombinant form of the calcium-activated photoprotein aequorin, the protein responsible for bioluminescence of the jellyfish, Aequorea victoria. AquaLite production and the development of methods to conjugate it to proteins, oligonucleotides, and haptens provide a unique, non-isotopic detection system. Assays based on AquaLite replace the high sensitivity reproducibility, broad dynamic range and simplicity, lost during the transition from radioisotopes in RIA formats to absorbance and fluorescence detection methods in enzyme immunoassay. The simplicity of signal generation, through the addition of calcium in commercially available instruments and the high quantum efficiency of its conjugates (detection between 50,000 and 500,000 molecules), make it an ideal detection system for applications in molecular diagnostics. Detection and quantification of specific nucleic acid sequences in complex mixtures rely on signal or target amplification. AquaLite provides sufficient sensitivity to detect amplified product before the linear relationship of target to product is lost and to directly detect low copies of non-amplified target.