processes, but current approaches to visualize actin have several limitations. Here we
describe Lifeact, a 17-amino-acid peptide, which stained filamentous actin (F-actin)
structures in eukaryotic cells and tissues. Lifeact did not interfere with actin dynamics in vitro
and in vivo and in its chemically modified peptide form allowed visualization of actin
dynamics in nontransfectable cells.