Engineering luminopsins with improved coupling efficiencies.

Significance: Luminopsins (LMOs) are bioluminescent-optogenetic tools with a luciferase fused to an opsin that allow bimodal control of neurons by providing both optogenetic and chemogenetic access. Determining which design features contribute to the efficacy of LMOs will be beneficial for further improving LMOs for use in research.

Aim: We investigated the relative impact of luciferase brightness, opsin sensitivity, pairing of emission and absorption wavelength, and arrangement of moieties on the function of LMOs.

Efficient opto- and chemogenetic control in a single molecule driven by FRET-modified bioluminescence.

Significance: Bioluminescent optogenetics (BL-OG) offers a unique and powerful approach to manipulate neural activity both opto- and chemogenetically using a single actuator molecule (a LuMinOpsin, LMO).

Aim: To further enhance the utility of BL-OG by improving the efficacy of chemogenetic (bioluminescence-driven) LMO activation.

Approach: We developed novel luciferases optimized for Förster resonance energy transfer when fused to the fluorescent protein mNeonGreen, generating bright bioluminescent (BL) emitters spectrally tuned to Channelrhodopsin 1 (VChR1).

Engineering luminopsins with improved coupling efficiencies.

Significance: Luminopsins (LMOs) are bioluminescent-optogenetic tools with a luciferase fused to an opsin that allow bimodal control of neurons by providing both optogenetic and chemogenetic access. Determining which design features contribute to the efficacy of LMOs will be beneficial for further improving LMOs for use in research.

Aim: We investigated the relative impact of luciferase brightness, opsin sensitivity, pairing of emission and absorption wavelength, and arrangement of moieties on the function of LMOs.

Bioluminescent Genetically Encoded Glutamate Indicators for Molecular Imaging of Neuronal Activity.

Genetically encoded optical sensors and advancements in microscopy instrumentation and techniques have revolutionized the scientific toolbox available for probing complex biological processes such as release of specific neurotransmitters. Most genetically encoded optical sensors currently used are based on fluorescence and have been highly successful tools for single-cell imaging in superficial brain regions. However, there remains a need to develop new tools for reporting neuronal activity within deeper structures without the need for hardware such as lenses or fibers to be implanted within the brain.

A Bioluminescent Activity Dependent (BLADe) Platform for Converting Neuronal Activity to Photoreceptor Activation.

We developed a platform that utilizes a calcium-dependent luciferase to convert neuronal activity into activation of light sensing domains within the same cell. The platform is based on a luciferase variant with high light emission split by calmodulin-M13 sequences that depends on influx of calcium ions (Ca) for functional reconstitution. In the presence of its luciferin, coelenterazine (CTZ), Ca influx results in light emission that drives activation of photoreceptors, including optogenetic channels and LOV domains.

A New Highly Efficient Molecule for Both Optogenetic and Chemogenetic Control Driven by FRET Amplification of BioLuminescence.

Significance: Bioluminescent optogenetics (BL-OG) offers a unique and powerful approach to manipulate neural activity both opto- and chemogenetically using a single actuator molecule (a LuMinOpsin, LMO).

Aim: To further enhance the utility of BL-OG by improving the efficacy of chemogenetic (bioluminescence-driven) LMO activation.

Approach: We developed novel luciferases optimized for Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) when fused to the fluorescent protein mNeonGreen, generating bright bioluminescent (BL) emitters spectrally tuned to Volvox Channelrhodopsin 1 (VChR1).

CaBLAM! A high-contrast bioluminescent Ca indicator derived from an engineered luciferase.

Ca plays many critical roles in cell physiology and biochemistry, leading researchers to develop a number of fluorescent small molecule dyes and genetically encodable probes that optically report changes in Ca concentrations in living cells. Though such fluorescence-based genetically encoded Ca indicators (GECIs) have become a mainstay of modern Ca sensing and imaging, bioluminescence-based GECIs-probes that generate light through oxidation of a small-molecule by a luciferase or photoprotein-have several distinct advantages over their fluorescent counterparts. Bioluminescent tags do not photobleach, do not suffer from nonspecific autofluorescent background, and do not lead to phototoxicity since they do not require the extremely bright extrinsic excitation light typically required for fluorescence imaging, especially with 2-photon microscopy.

Selective control of synaptically-connected circuit elements by all-optical synapses.

Understanding percepts, engrams and actions requires methods for selectively modulating synaptic communication between specific subsets of interconnected cells. Here, we develop an approach to control synaptically connected elements using bioluminescent light: Luciferase-generated light, originating from a presynaptic axon terminal, modulates an opsin in its postsynaptic target. Vesicular-localized luciferase is released into the synaptic cleft in response to presynaptic activity, creating a real-time Optical Synapse.

Endoplasmic reticulum tubules limit the size of misfolded protein condensates.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is composed of sheets and tubules. Here we report that the COPII coat subunit, SEC24C, works with the long form of the tubular ER-phagy receptor, RTN3, to target dominant-interfering mutant proinsulin puncta to lysosomes. When the delivery of puncta to lysosomes was disrupted, large puncta accumulated in the ER.

Bioluminescent optogenetic (BL-OG) activation of neurons during mouse postnatal brain development.

Bioluminescent optogenetics (BL-OG) allows activation of photosensory proteins, such as opsins, by either fiberoptics or by administering a luciferin. BL-OG thus confers both optogenetic and chemogenetic access within the same genetically targeted neuron. This bimodality offers a powerful approach for non-invasive chemogenetic manipulation of neural activity during brain development and adult behaviors with standard optogenetic spatiotemporal precision.

Aequorea's secrets revealed: New fluorescent proteins with unique properties for bioimaging and biosensing.

Using mRNA sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly, we identified, cloned, and characterized 9 previously undiscovered fluorescent protein (FP) homologs from Aequorea victoria and a related Aequorea species, with most sequences highly divergent from A. victoria green fluorescent protein (avGFP). Among these FPs are the brightest green fluorescent protein (GFP) homolog yet characterized and a reversibly photochromic FP that responds to UV and blue light.

Miniaturized Devices for Bioluminescence Imaging in Freely Behaving Animals.

In vivo fluorescence miniature microscopy has recently proven a major advance, enabling cellular imaging in freely behaving animals. However, fluorescence imaging suffers from autofluorescence, phototoxicity, photobleaching and non- homogeneous illumination artifacts. These factors limit the quality and time course of data collection.

Alkynamide phthalazinones as a new class of TbrPDEB1 inhibitors (Part 2).

Inhibitors against Trypanosoma brucei phosphodiesterase B1 (TbrPDEB1) and B2 (TbrPDEB2) have gained interest as new treatments for human African trypanosomiasis. The recently reported alkynamide tetrahydrophthalazinones, which show submicromolar activities against TbrPDEB1 and anti-T. brucei activity, have been used as starting point for the discovery of new TbrPDEB1 inhibitors.

Assay for Detecting Gαi-Mediated Decreases in cAMP in Living Cells.

Cell-based assays to detect Gαi signaling are often indirect, frequently involve complex pharmacological interventions, and are usually blind to the kinetics of the signaling. Our goal was to develop a simple, direct measure of Gαi signaling in living cells. We previously reported our fluorescent cADDis assay and showed that it reliably detects Gαs-mediated increases in cAMP levels.

Spatiotemporal manipulation of ciliary glutamylation reveals its roles in intraciliary trafficking and Hedgehog signaling.

Tubulin post-translational modifications (PTMs) occur spatiotemporally throughout cells and are suggested to be involved in a wide range of cellular activities. However, the complexity and dynamic distribution of tubulin PTMs within cells have hindered the understanding of their physiological roles in specific subcellular compartments. Here, we develop a method to rapidly deplete tubulin glutamylation inside the primary cilia, a microtubule-based sensory organelle protruding on the cell surface, by targeting an engineered deglutamylase to the cilia in minutes.

Characterization of a spectrally diverse set of fluorescent proteins as FRET acceptors for mTurquoise2.

The performance of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) biosensors depends on brightness and photostability, which are dependent on the characteristics of the fluorescent proteins that are employed. Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) is often used as an acceptor but YFP is prone to photobleaching and pH changes. In this study, we evaluated the properties of a diverse set of acceptor fluorescent proteins in combination with the optimized CFP variant mTurquoise2 as the donor.

Blue-Shifted Green Fluorescent Protein Homologues Are Brighter than Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein under Two-Photon Excitation.

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are indispensable markers for two-photon imaging of live tissue, especially in the brains of small model organisms. The quantity of physiologically relevant data collected, however, is limited by heat-induced damage of the tissue due to the high intensities of the excitation laser. We seek to minimize this damage by developing FPs with improved brightness.

Engineering of mCherry variants with long Stokes shift, red-shifted fluorescence, and low cytotoxicity.

MCherry, the Discosoma sp. mushroom coral-derived monomeric red fluorescent protein (RFP), is a commonly used genetically encoded fluorophore for live cell fluorescence imaging. We have used a combination of protein design and directed evolution to develop mCherry variants with low cytotoxicity to Escherichia coli and altered excitation and emission profiles.

Structural analysis of the bright monomeric yellow-green fluorescent protein mNeonGreen obtained by directed evolution.

Until recently, genes coding for homologues of the autofluorescent protein GFP had only been identified in marine organisms from the phyla Cnidaria and Arthropoda. New fluorescent-protein genes have now been found in the phylum Chordata, coding for particularly bright oligomeric fluorescent proteins such as the tetrameric yellow fluorescent protein lanYFP from Branchiostoma lanceolatum. A successful monomerization attempt led to the development of the bright yellow-green fluorescent protein mNeonGreen.

New DAG and cAMP Sensors Optimized for Live-Cell Assays in Automated Laboratories.

Protein-based, fluorescent biosensors power basic research on cell signaling in health and disease, but their use in automated laboratories is limited. We have now created two live-cell assays, one for diacyl glycerol and another for cAMP, that are robust (Z' > 0.7) and easily deployed on standard fluorescence plate readers.

Occurrence of Isopenicillin-N-Synthase Homologs in Bioluminescent Ctenophores and Implications for Coelenterazine Biosynthesis.

The biosynthesis of the luciferin coelenterazine has remained a mystery for decades. While not all organisms that use coelenterazine appear to make it themselves, it is thought that ctenophores are a likely producer. Here we analyze the transcriptome data of 24 species of ctenophores, two of which have published genomes.