A Cellular FRET-Based Sensor for β-O-GlcNAc, A Dynamic Carbohydrate Modification Involved in Signaling

β-O-N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc) is a dynamic carbohydrate modification that is involved in cell signaling and has been implicated in a variety of disease states, including Alzheimer's and type-II diabetes. Despite the importance of this modification, little is known about the spatial and temporal localization of O-GlcNAc during signaling. This is due to the lack of methods for the study of O-GlcNAc in living cell systems. Herein we report the first genetically encoded FRET-based sensor for the detection of O-GlcNAc dynamics in live mammalian cells.