Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026
Optogenetic Signaling Activation in Zebrafish Embryos
Published on: October 27, 2023
Optogenetic control of transcription in zebrafish
Hongtao Liu1, Gustavo Gomez, Sophia Lin
1National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research-Shanghai, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. htliu@sibs.ac.cn
Abstract:
Light inducible protein-protein interactions are powerful tools to manipulate biological processes. Genetically encoded light-gated proteins for controlling precise cellular behavior are a new and promising technology, called optogenetics. Here we exploited the blue light-induced transcription system in yeast and zebrafish, based on the blue light dependent interaction between two plant proteins, blue light photoreceptor Cryptochrome 2 (CRY2) and the bHLH transcription factor CIB1 (CRY-interacting bHLH 1). We demonstrate the utility of this system by inducing rapid transcription suppression and activation in zebrafish.
