Design, construction, and validation of optogenetic proteins.

Methods Enzymol

Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States. Electronic address:

Published: February 2020

AI Article Synopsis

  • Cellular optogenetics uses light to control proteins that influence cell signaling with high precision.
  • Researchers developed a method to convert specific proteins into optogenetic tools using the Cry2-Cib pair.
  • The process involves creating an active protein that doesn't rely on natural regulation, attaching it to a light-responsive system, and using light to position the protein in targeted areas within the cell.

Article Abstract

Cellular optogenetics employs light-regulated, genetically encoded protein actuators to perturb cellular signaling with unprecedented spatial and temporal control. Here, we present a potentially generalized approach for transforming a given protein of interest (POI) into an optogenetic species. We describe the rational and methods by which we developed three different optogenetic POIs utilizing the Cry2-Cib photodimerizing pair. The process pipeline is highlighted by (1) developing a low level, constitutively active POI that is independent of endogenous regulation, (2) fusion of the mutant protein of interest to an optogenetic photodimerizing system, and (3) light-mediated recruitment of the light-responsive POI to specific subcellular regions.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003698PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.mie.2019.02.019DOI Listing

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