摘要 |
The disclosure provides compositions and methods for heavy atom labeling of a target protein using a clonable tag. The clonable tag comprises a metal binding protein, or fragment thereof, such as metallothionein, which may be fused to a target protein of interest. The tag permits the target protein to be labeled with a heavy atom, such as gold, silver, or mercury, and thus permits visualization of the target protein by electron microscopy. Also provided are methods for purification of a target protein using metallothionein, or a fragment thereof, as an affinity tag. The metallothionein fusion may be purified on immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) column charged with a metal such as cadmium.
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