Molecular imaging methods to visualize myriad biochemical processes in bacteria have traditionally been dependent upon molecular biology techniques to incorporate fluorescent biomolecules (e.g., fusion proteins). Such methods have been instrumental in our understanding of how bacteria function but are not without drawbacks, including potential perturbation to native protein expression and function. To overcome these limitations, the use of fluorescent small-molecule probes has gained much attention. Here, we highlight examples from the recent literature that showcase the utility of small-molecule probes for the fluorescence imaging of bacterial cells, including electrophilic, metabolic, and enzyme-activated probes. Although the use of these types of compounds for bacterial imaging is still relatively new, the selected examples demonstrate the exciting potential of these critical tools in the exploration of bacterial physiology.

中文翻译：

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用于细菌成像的酶靶向荧光小分子探针。

用于可视化细菌中无数生化过程的分子成像方法传统上依赖于分子生物学技术来结合荧光生物分子（例如融合蛋白）。这些方法有助于我们理解细菌如何发​​挥作用，但也有缺点，包括对天然蛋白质表达和功能的潜在干扰。为了克服这些限制，荧光小分子探针的使用受到了广泛关注。在这里，我们重点介绍了最近文献中的例子，这些例子展示了小分子探针在细菌细胞荧光成像中的应用，包括亲电子、代谢和酶激活探针。虽然使用这些类型的化合物进行细菌成像仍然相对较新，