Curated Optogenetic Publication Database

Abstract: We developed a system for optogenetic release of single molecules in cells. We confined soluble and transmembrane proteins to the Golgi apparatus via a photocleavable protein and released them by short pulses of light. Our method allows for a light dose-dependent delivery of functional proteins to the cytosol and plasma membrane in amounts compatible with single-molecule imaging, greatly simplifying access to single-molecule microscopy of any protein in live cells. We were able to reconstitute ion conductance by delivering BK and LRRC8/volume-regulated anion channels to the plasma membrane. Finally we were able to induce NF-kB signaling in T lymphoblasts stimulated by interleukin-1 by controlled release of a signaling protein that had been knocked out. We observed light-induced formation of functional inflammatory signaling complexes that triggered phosphorylation of the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase only in activated cells. We thus developed an optogenetic method for the reconstitution and investigation of cellular function at the single-molecule level.

Abstract: Photocleavable molecules can enable the light-dependent modulation of biomolecular activities with high spatiotemporal precision. We have previously reported a photocleavable protein (PhoCl1) that, uniquely, is a fully genetically encoded photocleavable molecule that can be introduced into cells in the form of its corresponding gene to enable optogenetic control of biomolecular activities. However, the first generation PhoCl1 exhibited a relatively slow rate of dissociation, potentially limiting its utility. Here, we report the X-ray crystal structures of the PhoCl1 green state, red state, and cleaved empty barrel. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to provide insight into the precise dissociation mechanism. Using structure-guided engineering and directed evolution, we have developed PhoCl2c with higher contrast ratio and PhoCl2f with faster dissociation. We characterized the performance of these new variants as purified proteins and in cultured cells. Our results demonstrate that PhoCl2 variants exhibit faster and more efficient dissociation, which should enable improved optogenetic manipulations of protein localization and protein-protein interactions in living cells.

Abstract: Optogenetic (photo-responsive) actuators engineered from photoreceptors are widely used in various applications to study cell biology and tissue physiology. In the toolkit of optogenetic actuators, the key building blocks are genetically encodable light-sensitive proteins. Currently, most optogenetic photosensory modules are engineered from naturally-occurring photoreceptor proteins from bacteria, fungi, and plants. There is a growing demand for novel photosensory domains with improved optical properties and light-induced responses to satisfy the needs of a wider variety of studies in biological sciences. In this review, we focus on progress towards engineering of non-opsin-based photosensory domains, and their representative applications in cell biology and physiology. We summarize current knowledge of engineering of light-sensitive proteins including light-oxygen-voltage-sensing domain (LOV), cryptochrome (CRY2), phytochrome (PhyB and BphP), and fluorescent protein (FP)-based photosensitive domains (Dronpa and PhoCl).

Abstract: To expand the range of experiments that are accessible with optogenetics, we developed a photocleavable protein (PhoCl) that spontaneously dissociates into two fragments after violet-light-induced cleavage of a specific bond in the protein backbone. We demonstrated that PhoCl can be used to engineer light-activatable Cre recombinase, Gal4 transcription factor, and a viral protease that in turn was used to activate opening of the large-pore ion channel Pannexin-1.