La proteína verde fluorescente (o GFP, por sus siglas en inglés, green fluorescent protein) es una proteína producida por la medusa Aequorea victoria, que emite fluorescencia en la zona verde del espectro visible (no confundir con bioluminiscencia; la bioluminiscencia produce luz propia a partir de reacciones químicas, la fluorescencia solo emite una luz de menor energía tras la absorción de una luz más energética). El gen que codifica esta proteína está aislado y se utiliza habitualmente en biología molecular como marcador. El 8 de octubre de 2008 los profesores Martin Chalfie (estadounidense), Osamu Shimomura (japonés radicado en los Estados Unidos) y Roger Y. Tsien (estadounidense) han sido galardonados por la Real Academia Sueca de Ciencias de Estocolmo con el Premio Nobel de Química 2008 "por su descubrimiento y desarrollo de la proteína fluorescente verde (GFP)", herramienta indispensable para la biología y la medicina modernas.

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The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein composed of 238 amino acid residues (26.9 kDa) that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to light in the blue to ultraviolet range. Although many other marine organisms have similar green fluorescent proteins, GFP traditionally refers to the protein first isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. The GFP from A. victoria has a major excitation peak at a wavelength of 395 nm and a minor one at 475 nm. Its emission peak is at 509 nm, which is in the lower green portion of the visible spectrum. The fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of GFP is 0.79. The GFP from the sea pansy (Renilla reniformis) has a single major excitation peak at 498 nm. In cell and molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of expression. It has been used in modified forms to make biosensors, and many animals have been created that express GFP, which demonstrates a proof of concept that a gene can be expressed throughout a given organism, in selected organs, or in cells of interest. GFP can be introduced into animals or other species through transgenic techniques, and maintained in their genome and that of their offspring. To date, GFP has been expressed in many species, including bacteria, yeasts, fungi, fish and mammals, including in human cells. Scientists Roger Y. Tsien, Osamu Shimomura, and Martin Chalfie were awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on 10 October 2008 for their discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein.

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