![Shining a Light on Cellular Life]()
Optogenetics combines genetics and optics to control well-defined events within specific cells of living tissue. In a study published in the May 9 online issue of Nature Methods, Vladislav Verkhusha, Ph.D., has developed the first optogenetic system that is turned on with near-infrared light (740-780 nm), which penetrates deeply into animal tissues. The system is based on the reversible light-induced binding between the phytochrome (photoreceptor) BphP1 and its natural partner PpsR2 from Rhodopseudomonas palustris bacteria. Dr. Verkhusha and colleagues used this interaction to translocate target proteins to specific cellular compartments, including the plasma membrane and nucleus, and to activate cell signaling. The researchers also adapt their system to induce transcription of reporter genes in vivo with light. Andrii Kaberniuk, Ph.D., and Anton Shemetov, Ph.D., both postdocs in the Verkhusha lab, were co-authors on the paper. Dr. Verkhusha is professor of anatomy and structural biology.
Posted on: Tuesday, June 07, 2016