Question

How does FRET signaling work? Does the R0 value occur only when the enzyme efficiency is at 50%? or 100%?

Answer 1

FRET relies on the distance-dependent transfer of energy from a donor molecule to an acceptor molecule. Due to its sensitivity to distance, FRET has been used to investigate molecular interactions. FRET is the radiationless transmission of energy from a donor molecule to an acceptor molecule. The donor molecule is the dye or chromophore that initially absorbs the energy and the acceptor is the chromophore to which the energy is subsequently transferred. This resonance interaction occurs over greater than interatomic distances, without conversion to thermal energy, and without any molecular collision. The transfer of energy leads to a reduction in the donor’s fluorescence intensity and excited state lifetime, and an increase in the acceptor’s emission intensity. A pair of molecules that interact in such a manner that FRET occurs is often referred to as a donor/acceptor pair.

Where Ro is the Förster distance at which half the energy is transferred and r is the actual distance between donor and acceptor. The distance at which energy transfer is 50% efficient is referred to as the Förster radius (Ro).

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