Rapid Optogenetic Clustering in the Cytoplasm with BcLOVclust.

ABSTRACT: Protein clustering is a powerful form of optogenetic control, yet remarkably few proteins are known to oligomerize with light. Recently, the photoreceptor BcLOV4 was found to form protein clusters in mammalian cells in response to blue light, although clustering coincided with its translocation to the plasma membrane, potentially constraining its application as an optogenetic clustering module. Herein we identify key amino acids that couple BcLOV4 clustering to membrane binding, allowing us to engineer a variant that clusters in the cytoplasm and does not associate with the membrane in response to blue light. This variant-called BcLOVclust-clustered over many cycles with substantially faster clustering and de-clustering kinetics compared to the widely used optogenetic clustering protein Cr

SUBMITTER: Huang Dennis Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10932838 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature