The central dogma teaches us that DNA makes RNA, which in turn makes proteins, the main building blocks of the cell. But this over simplified linear transmission of information overlooks the vast majority of the genome produces RNAs that do not encode proteins and the myriad ways that RNA regulates cellular functions. Historically, one of the challenges in illuminating RNA biology has been the lack of tools for visualizing RNA in live cells. But clever approaches for exploiting RNA binding proteins, in vitro RNA evolution, and chemical biology have resulted in significant advances in RNA visualization tools in recent years. This review provides an overview of current tools for tagging RNA with fluorescent probes and tracking their dynamics, localization andfunction in live mammalian cells.

中心法则告诉我们，DNA 产生 RNA，而 RNA 又产生蛋白质，这是细胞的主要组成部分。但是这种过度简化的线性信息传输忽略了基因组的绝大多数产生不编码蛋白质的 RNA 以及 RNA 调节细胞功能的无数方式。从历史上看，阐明 RNA 生物学的挑战之一是缺乏可视化活细胞中 RNA 的工具。但近年来，利用 RNA 结合蛋白、体外RNA 进化和化学生物学的巧妙方法使 RNA 可视化工具取得了重大进展。这篇综述概述了当前用荧光探针标记 RNA 并跟踪它们在活哺乳动物细胞中的动态、定位和功能的工具。