Optogenetic control of mitosis with photocaged chemical dimerizers

Mitosis is a highly dynamic process that depends on coordination of many protein-protein interactions with temporal and spatial precision. A challenge for understanding this complex system is to manipulate it on biologically relevant temporal and spatial scales, with molecular specificity. We describe an optogenetic platform, based on photosensitive chemical inducers of dimerization, which provides control over dimerization of genetically tagged proteins with light. As examples, we drive chromosome transport and activate and silence the spindle assembly checkpoint by recruiting proteins to and releasing them from kinetochores with light.