Single-particle tracking of quantum dot-conjugated prion proteins inside yeast cells

Yeast is a model eukaryote with a variety of biological resources. Here we developed a method to track a quantum dot (QD)-conjugated protein in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We chemically conjugated QDs with the yeast prion Sup35, incorporated them into yeast spheroplasts, and tracked the motions by conventional two-dimensional or three-dimensional tracking microscopy. The method paves the way toward the individual tracking of proteins of interest inside living yeast cells.

Research highlights
► We develop a method to track a quantum dot-conjugated protein in yeast cells.
► We incorporate the conjugated quantum dot proteins into yeast spheroplasts.
► We track the motions by conventional or 3D tracking microscopy.