Curated Optogenetic Publication Database

Abstract: Molecular signals are sensed by their respective receptors and information is transmitted and processed by a sophisticated intracellular network controlling various biological functions. Optogenetic tools allow the targeting of specific signaling nodes for a precise spatiotemporal control of downstream effects. These tools are based on photoreceptors such as phytochrome B (PhyB), cryptochrome 2, or light-oxygen-voltage-sensing domains that reversibly bind to specific interaction partners in a light-dependent manner. Fusions of a protein of interest to the photoreceptor or their interaction partners may enable the control of the protein function by light-mediated dimerization, a change of subcellular localization, or due to photocaging/-uncaging of effectors. In this review, we summarize the photoreceptors and the light-based mechanisms utilized for the modulation of signaling events in mammalian cells focusing on non-neuronal applications. We discuss in detail optogenetic tools and approaches applied to control signaling events mediated by second messengers, Rho GTPases and growth factor-triggered signaling cascades namely the RAS/RAF and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathways. Applying the latest generation of optogenetic tools allows to control cell fate decisions such as proliferation and differentiation or to deliver therapeutic substances in a spatiotemporally controlled manner.

Abstract: The ZTL/FKF1/LKP2 group proteins are LOV-domain-based blue-light photoreceptors that control protein degradation by ubiquitination. These proteins were identified relatively recently and are known to be involved in the regulation of the circadian clock and photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis. In this review, we focus on two topics. First, we summarize the molecular mechanisms by which ZTL and FKF1 regulate these biological phenomena based on genetic and biochemical analyses. Next, we discuss the chemical properties of the ZTL family LOV domains obtained from structural, biophysical, and photochemical characterizations of the LOV domains. These two different levels of approach unveiled the molecular mechanisms by which plants utilize ZTL and FKF1 proteins to monitor light for daily and seasonal adaptation.

Abstract: Genetically encoded actuators that allow control of protein-protein interactions using light, termed 'optical dimerizers', are emerging as new tools for experimental biology. In recent years, numerous new and versatile dimerizer systems have been developed. Here we discuss the design of optical dimerizer experiments, including choice of a dimerizer system, photoexcitation sources, and the coordinate use of imaging reporters. We provide detailed protocols for experiments using two dimerization systems we previously developed, CRY2/CIB and UVR8/UVR8, for use in controlling transcription, protein localization, and protein secretion using light. Additionally, we provide instructions and software for constructing a pulse-controlled LED device for use in experiments requiring extended light treatments.

Abstract: Genetically encoded, light-activatable proteins provide the means to probe biochemical pathways at specific subcellular locations with exquisite temporal control. However, engineering these systems in order to provide a dramatic jump in localized activity, while retaining a low dark-state background remains a significant challenge. When placed within the framework of a genetically encodable, light-activatable heterodimerizer system, the actin-remodelling protein cofilin induces dramatic changes in the F-actin network and consequent cell motility upon illumination. We demonstrate that the use of a partially impaired mutant of cofilin is critical for maintaining low background activity in the dark. We also show that light-directed recruitment of the reduced activity cofilin mutants to the cytoskeleton is sufficient to induce F-actin remodeling, formation of filopodia, and directed cell motility.

Abstract: A light-regulated adenylyl cyclase, mPAC, was previously identified from the cyanobacterium Microcoleus chthonoplastes PCC7420. MPAC consists of a flavin-based blue light-sensing LOV domain and a catalytic domain. In this work, we expressed mPAC in an adenylate cyclase A null mutant (aca-) of the eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum and tested to what extent light activation of mPAC could restore the cAMP-dependent developmental programme of this organism. Amoebas of Dictyostelium, a well-established model organism, generate and respond to cAMP pulses, which cause them to aggregate and construct fruiting bodies. mPAC was expressed under control of a constitutive actin-15 promoter in D. discoideum and displayed low basal adenylyl cyclase activity in darkness that was about five-fold stimulated by blue light. mPAC expression in aca- cells marginally restored aggregation and fruiting body formation in darkness. However, more and larger fruiting bodies were formed when mPAC expressing cells were incubated in light. Extending former applications of light-regulated AC, these results demonstrate that mPAC can be used to manipulate multicellular development in eukaryotes in a light dependent manner.

Abstract: Cytoskeletal motors perform critical force generation and transport functions in eukaryotic cells. Engineered modifications of motor function provide direct tests of protein structure-function relationships and potential tools for controlling cellular processes or for harnessing molecular transport in artificial systems. Here, we report the design and characterization of a panel of cytoskeletal motors that reversibly change gears--speed up, slow down or switch directions--when exposed to blue light. Our genetically encoded structural designs incorporate a photoactive protein domain to enable light-dependent conformational changes in an engineered lever arm. Using in vitro motility assays, we demonstrate robust spatiotemporal control over motor function and characterize the kinetics of the optical gearshifting mechanism. We have used a modular approach to create optical gearshifting motors for both actin-based and microtubule-based transport.

Abstract: Aureochrome 1 from Vaucheria frigida is a recently identified blue-light receptor that acts as a transcription factor. The protein comprises a photosensitive light-, oxygen- and voltage-sensitive (LOV) domain and a basic zipper (bZIP) domain that binds DNA rendering aureochrome 1 a prospective optogenetic tool. Here, we studied the photoreaction of full-length aureochrome 1 by molecular spectroscopy. The kinetics of the decay of the red-shifted triplet state and the blue-shifted signaling state were determined by time-resolved UV/Vis spectroscopy. It is shown that the presence of the bZIP domain further prolongs the lifetime of the LOV390 signaling state in comparison to the isolated LOV domain whereas bound DNA does not influence the photocycle kinetics. The light-dark Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectrum shows the characteristic features of the flavin mononucleotide chromophore except that the S-H stretching vibration of cysteine 254, which is involved in the formation of the thio-adduct state, is significantly shifted to lower frequencies compared to other LOV domains. The presence of the target DNA influences the light-induced FTIR difference spectrum of aureochrome 1. Vibrational bands that can be assigned to arginine and lysine side chains as well to the phosphate backbone, indicate crucial changes in interactions between transcription factor and DNA.

Abstract: Time-resolved X-ray crystallography and solution scattering have been successfully conducted on proteins on time-scales down to around 100 ps, set by the duration of the hard X-ray pulses emitted by synchrotron sources. The advent of hard X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs), which emit extremely intense, very brief, coherent X-ray pulses, opens the exciting possibility of time-resolved experiments with femtosecond time resolution on macromolecular structure, in both single crystals and solution. The X-ray pulses emitted by an FEL differ greatly in many properties from those emitted by a synchrotron, in ways that at first glance make time-resolved measurements of X-ray scattering with the required accuracy extremely challenging. This opens up several questions which I consider in this brief overview. Are there likely to be chemically and biologically interesting structural changes to be revealed on the femtosecond time-scale? How shall time-resolved experiments best be designed and conducted to exploit the properties of FELs and overcome challenges that they pose? To date, fast time-resolved reactions have been initiated by a brief laser pulse, which obviously requires that the system under study be light-sensitive. Although this is true for proteins of the visual system and for signalling photoreceptors, it is not naturally the case for most interesting biological systems. To generate more biological targets for time-resolved study, can this limitation be overcome by optogenetic, chemical or other means?

Abstract: The light-based control of ion channels has been transformative for the neurosciences, but the optogenetic toolkit does not stop there. An expanding number of proteins and cellular functions have been shown to be controlled by light, and the practical considerations in deciding between reversible optogenetic systems (such as systems that use light-oxygen-voltage domains, phytochrome proteins, cryptochrome proteins and the fluorescent protein Dronpa) are well defined. The field is moving beyond proof of concept to answering real biological questions, such as how cell signalling is regulated in space and time, that were difficult or impossible to address with previous tools.

Abstract: The design of new optogenetic tools for controlling protein function would be facilitated by the development of protein scaffolds that undergo large, well-defined structural changes upon exposure to light. Domain swapping, a process in which a structural element of a monomeric protein is replaced by the same element of another copy of the same protein, leads to a well-defined change in protein structure. We observe domain swapping in a variant of the blue light photoreceptor photoactive yellow protein in which a surface loop is replaced by a well-characterized protein-protein interaction motif, the E-helix. In the domain-swapped dimer, the E-helix sequence specifically binds a partner K-helix sequence, whereas in the monomeric form of the protein, the E-helix sequence is unable to fold into a binding-competent conformation and no interaction with the K-helix is seen. Blue light irradiation decreases the extent of domain swapping (from Kd = 10 μM to Kd = 300 μM) and dramatically enhances the rate, from weeks to <1 min. Blue light-induced domain swapping thus provides a novel mechanism for controlling of protein-protein interactions in which light alters both the stability and the kinetic accessibility of binding-competent states.

Abstract: The function of many eukaryotic proteins is regulated by highly dynamic changes in their nucleocytoplasmic distribution. The ability to precisely and reversibly control nuclear translocation would, therefore, allow dissecting and engineering cellular networks. Here we develop a genetically encoded, light-inducible nuclear localization signal (LINuS) based on the LOV2 domain of Avena sativa phototropin 1. LINuS is a small, versatile tag, customizable for different proteins and cell types. LINuS-mediated nuclear import is fast and reversible, and can be tuned at different levels, for instance, by introducing mutations that alter AsLOV2 domain photo-caging properties or by selecting nuclear localization signals (NLSs) of various strengths. We demonstrate the utility of LINuS in mammalian cells by controlling gene expression and entry into mitosis with blue light.

Abstract: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a large family of cell surface receptors that sense growth factors and hormones and regulate a variety of cell behaviours in health and disease. Contactless activation of RTKs with spatial and temporal precision is currently not feasible. Here, we generated RTKs that are insensitive to endogenous ligands but can be selectively activated by low-intensity blue light. We screened light-oxygen-voltage (LOV)-sensing domains for their ability to activate RTKs by light-activated dimerization. Incorporation of LOV domains found in aureochrome photoreceptors of stramenopiles resulted in robust activation of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and rearranged during transfection (RET). In human cancer and endothelial cells, light induced cellular signalling with spatial and temporal precision. Furthermore, light faithfully mimicked complex mitogenic and morphogenic cell behaviour induced by growth factors. RTKs under optical control (Opto-RTKs) provide a powerful optogenetic approach to actuate cellular signals and manipulate cell behaviour.

Abstract: Many aspects of plant photomorphogenesis are controlled by the phytochrome (Phy) family of bilin-containing photoreceptors that detect red and far-red light by photointerconversion between a dark-adapted Pr state and a photoactivated Pfr state. Whereas 3D models of prokaryotic Phys are available, models of their plant counterparts have remained elusive. Here, we present the crystal structure of the photosensing module (PSM) from a seed plant Phy in the Pr state using the PhyB isoform from Arabidopsis thaliana. The PhyB PSM crystallized as a head-to-head dimer with strong structural homology to its bacterial relatives, including a 5(Z)syn, 10(Z)syn, 15(Z)anti configuration of the phytochromobilin chromophore buried within the cGMP phosphodiesterase/adenylyl cyclase/FhlA (GAF) domain, and a well-ordered hairpin protruding from the Phy-specific domain toward the bilin pocket. However, its Per/Arnt/Sim (PAS) domain, knot region, and helical spine show distinct structural differences potentially important to signaling. Included is an elongated helical spine, an extended β-sheet connecting the GAF domain and hairpin stem, and unique interactions between the region upstream of the PAS domain knot and the bilin A and B pyrrole rings. Comparisons of this structure with those from bacterial Phys combined with mutagenic studies support a toggle model for photoconversion that engages multiple features within the PSM to stabilize the Pr and Pfr end states after rotation of the D pyrrole ring. Taken together, this Arabidopsis PhyB structure should enable molecular insights into plant Phy signaling and provide an essential scaffold to redesign their activities for agricultural benefit and as optogenetic reagents.

Abstract: Bacteriophytochromes sense light in the near-infrared window, the spectral region where absorption by mammalian tissues is minimal, and their chromophore, biliverdin IXα, is naturally present in animal cells. These properties make bacteriophytochromes particularly attractive for optogenetic applications. However, the lack of understanding of how light-induced conformational changes control output activities has hindered engineering of bacteriophytochrome-based optogenetic tools. Many bacteriophytochromes function as homodimeric enzymes, in which light-induced conformational changes are transferred via α-helical linkers to the rigid output domains. We hypothesized that heterologous output domains requiring homodimerization can be fused to the photosensory modules of bacteriophytochromes to generate light-activated fusions. Here, we tested this hypothesis by engineering adenylate cyclases regulated by light in the near-infrared spectral window using the photosensory module of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides bacteriophytochrome BphG1 and the adenylate cyclase domain from Nostoc sp. CyaB1. We engineered several light-activated fusion proteins that differed from each other by approximately one or two α-helical turns, suggesting that positioning of the output domains in the same phase of the helix is important for light-dependent activity. Extensive mutagenesis of one of these fusions resulted in an adenylate cyclase with a sixfold photodynamic range. Additional mutagenesis produced an enzyme with a more stable photoactivated state. When expressed in cholinergic neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans, the engineered adenylate cyclase affected worm behavior in a light-dependent manner. The insights derived from this study can be applied to the engineering of other homodimeric bacteriophytochromes, which will further expand the optogenetic toolset.

Abstract: Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) regulate diverse cellular behaviors that should be exquisitely controlled in space and time. We engineered an optically controlled FGFR (optoFGFR1) by exploiting cryptochrome 2, which homointeracts upon blue light irradiation. OptoFGFR1 can rapidly and reversibly control intracellular FGFR1 signaling within seconds by illumination with blue light. At the subcellular level, localized activation of optoFGFR1 induced cytoskeletal reorganization. Utilizing the high spatiotemporal precision of optoFGFR1, we efficiently controlled cell polarity and induced directed cell migration. OptoFGFR1 provides an effective means to precisely control FGFR signaling and is an important optogenetic tool that can be used to study diverse biological processes both in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract: The possibility offered by photocontrolling the activity of biomolecules in vivo while recording physiological parameters is opening up new opportunities for the study of physiological processes at the single-cell level in a living organism. For the last decade, such tools have been mainly used in neuroscience, and their application in freely moving animals has revolutionized this field. New photochemical approaches enable the control of various cellular processes by manipulating a wide range of protein functions in a noninvasive way and with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. We are at a pivotal moment where biologists can adapt these cutting-edge technologies to their system of study. This user-oriented review presents the state of the art and highlights technical issues to be resolved in the near future for wide and easy use of these powerful approaches.

Abstract: Systems biologists aim to understand how organism-level processes, such as differentiation and multicellular development, are encoded in DNA. Conversely, synthetic biologists aim to program systems-level biological processes, such as engineered tissue growth, by writing artificial DNA sequences. To achieve their goals, these groups have adapted a hierarchical electrical engineering framework that can be applied in the forward direction to design complex biological systems or in the reverse direction to analyze evolved networks. Despite much progress, this framework has been limited by an inability to directly and dynamically characterize biological components in the varied contexts of living cells. Recently, two optogenetic methods for programming custom gene expression and protein localization signals have been developed and used to reveal fundamentally new information about biological components that respond to those signals. This basic dynamic characterization approach will be a major enabling technology in synthetic and systems biology.

Abstract: Optogenetic control of endogenous signaling can be an important tool for probing cell behavior. Using the photoresponse of the LOV2 domain of Avena sativa phototropin 1, we developed analogues of kinase inhibitors whose activity is light dependent. Inhibitory peptides were appended to the Jα helix, where they potently inhibited kinases in the light but were sterically blocked from kinase interaction in the dark. Photoactivatable inhibitors for cyclic-AMP dependent kinase (PKA) and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) are described, together with studies that shed light on proper positioning of the peptides in the LOV domain. These inhibitors altered endogenous signaling in living cells and produced light-dependent changes in cell morphodynamics.

Abstract: Cells sense gradients of extracellular cues and generate polarized responses such as cell migration and neurite initiation. There is static information on the intracellular signaling molecules involved in these responses, but how they dynamically orchestrate polarized cell behaviors is not well understood. A limitation has been the lack of methods to exert spatial and temporal control over specific signaling molecules inside a living cell. Here we introduce optogenetic tools that act downstream of native G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) and provide direct control over the activity of endogenous heterotrimeric G protein subunits. Light-triggered recruitment of a truncated regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) protein or a Gβγ-sequestering domain to a selected region on the plasma membrane results in localized inhibition of G protein signaling. In immune cells exposed to spatially uniform chemoattractants, these optogenetic tools allow us to create reversible gradients of signaling activity. Migratory responses generated by this approach show that a gradient of active G protein αi and βγ subunits is sufficient to generate directed cell migration. They also provide the most direct evidence so for a global inhibition pathway triggered by Gi signaling in directional sensing and adaptation. These optogenetic tools can be applied to interrogate the mechanistic basis of other GPCR-modulated cellular functions.

Abstract: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a family of cell-surface receptors that have a key role in regulating critical cellular processes. Here, to understand and precisely control RTK signalling, we report the development of a genetically encoded, photoactivatable Trk (tropomyosin-related kinase) family of RTKs using a light-responsive module based on Arabidopsis thaliana cryptochrome 2. Blue-light stimulation (488 nm) of mammalian cells harbouring these receptors robustly upregulates canonical Trk signalling. A single light stimulus triggers transient signalling activation, which is reversibly tuned by repetitive delivery of blue-light pulses. In addition, the light-provoked process is induced in a spatially restricted and cell-specific manner. A prolonged patterned illumination causes sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and promotes neurite outgrowth in a neuronal cell line, and induces filopodia formation in rat hippocampal neurons. These light-controllable receptors are expected to create experimental opportunities to spatiotemporally manipulate many biological processes both in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract: We developed a light-mediated system based on synthetic light-switchable transactivators. The transactivators bind promoter upon blue-light exposure and rapidly initiate transcription of target transgenes in filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Light is inexpensive to apply, easily delivered, and instantly removed, and thus has significant advantages over chemical inducers.

Abstract: Sensory photoreceptors elicit vital physiological adaptations in response to incident light. As light-regulated actuators, photoreceptors underpin optogenetics, which denotes the noninvasive, reversible, and spatiotemporally precise perturbation by light of living cells and organisms. Of particular versatility, naturally occurring photoactivated adenylate cyclases promote the synthesis of the second messenger cAMP under blue light. Here, we have engineered a light-activated phosphodiesterase (LAPD) with complementary light sensitivity and catalytic activity by recombining the photosensor module of Deinococcus radiodurans bacterial phytochrome with the effector module of Homo sapiens phosphodiesterase 2A. Upon red-light absorption, LAPD up-regulates hydrolysis of cAMP and cGMP by up to sixfold, whereas far-red light can be used to down-regulate activity. LAPD also mediates light-activated cAMP and cGMP hydrolysis in eukaryotic cell cultures and in zebrafish embryos; crucially, the biliverdin chromophore of LAPD is available endogenously and does not need to be provided exogenously. LAPD thus establishes a new optogenetic modality that permits light control over diverse cAMP/cGMP-mediated physiological processes. Because red light penetrates tissue more deeply than light of shorter wavelengths, LAPD appears particularly attractive for studies in living organisms.

Abstract: Biological processes are naturally regulated with high spatial and temporal resolution at the molecular, cellular, and systems level. To control and study processes with the same resolution, light-sensitive groups and domains have been employed to optically activate and deactivate protein function. Optical control is a noninvasive technique in which the amplitude, wavelength, spatial location, and timing of the light illumination can be easily controlled. This review focuses on applications of genetically encoded unnatural amino acids containing light-removable protecting groups to optically trigger protein function, while also discussing select optogenetic approaches using natural light-sensitive domains to engineer optical control of biological processes.

Abstract: The lamellipodium, an essential structure for cell migration, plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Although Rac1 recognized as a key player in the formation of lamellipodia, the molecular mechanisms underlying lamellipodial motility are not fully understood. Optogenetic technology enabled us to spatiotemporally control the activity of photoactivatable Rac1 (PA-Rac1) in living cells. Using this system, we revealed the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) in Rac1-dependent lamellipodial motility in PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Through local blue laser irradiation of PA-Rac1-expressing cells, lamellipodial motility was reversibly induced. First, outward extension of a lamellipodium parallel to the substratum was observed. The extended lamellipodium then showed ruffling activity at the periphery. Notably, PI(3,4,5)P3 and WAVE2 were localized in the extending lamellipodium in a PI3K-dependent manner. We confirmed that the inhibition of PI3K activity greatly suppressed lamellipodial extension, while the ruffling activity was less affected. These results suggest that Rac1-induced lamellipodial motility consists of two distinct activities, PI3K-dependent outward extension and PI3K-independent ruffling.

Abstract: Biological imaging based on light microscopy comes at the core of the methods that let us understanding morphology and its dynamics in synergy to the spatiotemporal distribution of cellular and molecular activities as the organism develops and becomes functional. Non-linear optical tools and superesolution methodologies are under constant development and their applications to live imaging of whole organisms keep improving as we speak. Genetically coded biosensors, multicolor clonal methods and optogenetics in different organisms and, in particular, in Drosophila follow equivalent paths. We anticipate a brilliant future for live imaging providing the roots for the holistic understanding, rather than for individual parts, of development and function at the whole-organism level.