Review on optogenetics: triggering biological functions with light

Light has become a convenient and highly dynamic input for probing and actuating biological systems. In particular, light induced transcriptional regulation offers a versatile way to control a variety of different cellular functions. Making cells light sensitive only requires the use of pre-engineered light sensitive transcription regulators to express the genes responsible for specific biological functions. The Control Theory & Systems Biology group of D-BSSE previously developed a light sensitive T7 RNA polymerase named Opto-T7RNAP, and BLADE, a light-inducible transcription factor. The group also showed that the light-sensitivity of the small molecule inducer aTc can be exploited for light-control of transcription.

In an invited article published by Advanced Biology, Armin Baumschlager and Mustafa Khammsh present a thorough review of light controllable proteins. The authors share their experiences gained during engineering of optogenetic regulators, discuss light-sensitive protein domains which form the backbone of new opto-protein designs, and provide a detailed comparison of the currently available transcription regulators in the biotechnological highly relevant bacterium E. coli.