Novel technique with light triggers gene transcription

Cells synthesize mRNA molecules as a first step in expressing proteins. This fundamental process, called transcription, is difficult to probe directly or to visualize. Scientists from the D-BSSE research group of Mustafa Khammash developed a novel technique to do just that: they used blue light which is split up by micromirrors to directly activate gene transcription and to visualize and quantify the resulting mRNA in live yeast cells.

23.05.2018 by Carolin Arndt Foppa

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Enlarged view: Khammash_MolecularCell — Yeast cells densely growing in a monolayer are illuminated through the DMD projector (blue) in the pattern of a number “10.” The active transcription site of each cell (imaged in the fluorescence channel) is marked by a red spot. See publication for further details.

By rapidly activating and quantifying mRNA, the group was able to precisely control transcription in a large number of single cells using a digital computer. Among its many uses, this novel technology enables the study of one of life’s most fundamental processes in exquisite detail.

The external page article by Marc Rullan, Dirk Benzinger and colleagues appeared on 17 May in Molecular Cell.

Find an external page Editorial on the novelty of this technique.