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A Phytochrome Sensory Domain Permits Receptor Activation by Red Light
Author(s) -
Reichhart Eva,
InglesPrieto Alvaro,
Tichy AlexandraMadelaine,
McKenzie Catherine,
Janovjak Harald
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201601736
Subject(s) - phytochrome , optogenetics , photostimulation , receptor tyrosine kinase , microbiology and biotechnology , mapk/erk pathway , far red , biology , fibroblast growth factor , receptor , tyrosine kinase , chemistry , biophysics , red light , kinase , signal transduction , neuroscience , biochemistry , botany
Optogenetics and photopharmacology enable the spatio‐temporal control of cell and animal behavior by light. Although red light offers deep‐tissue penetration and minimal phototoxicity, very few red‐light‐sensitive optogenetic methods are currently available. We have now developed a red‐light‐induced homodimerization domain. We first showed that an optimized sensory domain of the cyanobacterial phytochrome 1 can be expressed robustly and without cytotoxicity in human cells. We then applied this domain to induce the dimerization of two receptor tyrosine kinases—the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 and the neurotrophin receptor trkB. This new optogenetic method was then used to activate the MAPK/ERK pathway non‐invasively in mammalian tissue and in multicolor cell‐signaling experiments. The light‐controlled dimerizer and red‐light‐activated receptor tyrosine kinases will prove useful to regulate a variety of cellular processes with light.