About MED12
The initiation of transcription is controlled in part by a large protein assembly known as the preinitiation complex. A component of this preinitiation complex is a 1.2 MDa protein aggregate called Mediator. This Mediator component binds with a CDK8 subcomplex which contains the protein encoded by this gene, mediator complex subunit 12 (MED12), along with MED13, CDK8 kinase, and cyclin C. The CDK8 subcomplex modulates Mediator-polymerase II interactions and thereby regulates transcription initiation and reinitation rates. The MED12 protein is essential for activating CDK8 kinase. Defects in this gene cause X-linked Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, also known as FG syndrome, and Lujan-Fryns syndrome. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2009]

About Janelia Fluor 549
Janelia Fluor® 549 was developed at the Janelia Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute but is commercialized by other vendors. The Janelia Fluor®s family is unique in that the fluorophores are cell-permeable and are available in photoactivatable forms. These fluorophores were developed for super-resolution microscopy (STED, PALM and STORM) and live-cell microscopy in the HaloTag and SNAP-tag versions. Janelia Fluor® 549 has an excitation peak at 549 nm and an emission peak at 571 nm.