Inhibitory luminopsins: genetically-encoded bioluminescent opsins for versatile, scalable, and hardware-independent optogenetic inhibition.

ABSTRACT: Optogenetic techniques provide an unprecedented ability to precisely manipulate neural activity in the context of complex neural circuitry. Although the toolbox of optogenetic probes continues to expand at a rapid pace with more efficient and responsive reagents, hardware-based light delivery is still a major hurdle that limits its practical use in vivo. We have bypassed the challenges of external light delivery by directly coupling a bioluminescent light source (a genetically encoded luciferase) to an inhibitory opsin, which we term an inhibitory luminopsin (iLMO). iLMO was shown to suppress action potential firing and synchronous bursting activity in vitro in response to both external light and luciferase substrate. iLMO was further shown to suppress single-unit firing rate and local fie

SUBMITTER: Tung JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585826 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature