Indian Muntjac Cell Actin Cytoskeleton

Fluorescence emission intensity from a culture of Indian Muntjac deerskin fibroblast cells stained with Alexa Fluor 568 conjugated to phalloidin, which binds to the intracellular filamentous actin network. The visible light absorption maximum of Alexa Fluor 568 is 578 nanometers and the emission maximum occurs at 603 nanometers in the orange region of the spectrum. In addition, the specimen was simultaneously stained with DAPI (targeting DNA in the cell nucleus; blue emission) and MitoTracker Green FM (targeting mitochondria; green emission). Note the absence of signal from the green (MitoTracker) and blue (DAPI) fluorophores, which are not efficiently excited at green wavelengths, but the presence of bright orange-red fluorescence exhibited by the actin filaments.