Organelle Markers
What are organelle markers?
Cells are made up of various subunits called organelles, which perform specialized functions within the cell. Organelles are usually compartmentalized within the cell into discreet units by their own lipid bilayer. Organelle markers, otherwise known as subcellular markers are antibodies that have been found to target proteins within a specific organelle, allowing for visualization and identification of these cellular structures. The use of antibodies as organelle markers can be an alternative to the use of fluorescent dyes or enzyme assays.
The co-localization of organelle markers with an antibody specific to a protein of interest enables researchers to learn about the sub-cellular location of novel proteins.
Cells have numerous types of organelles including:
- Cytoplasm
- Cytoskeleton
- Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Endosomes
- Golgi apparatus
- Lysosomes
- Mitochondria
- Nucleus
- Plasma Membrane
- Ribosomes
- Vacuole
- Vesicle