SALSA, a genetically encoded biosensor for spatiotemporal quantification of Notch signal transduction in vivo

Notch-mediated lateral specification is a fundamental mechanism to resolve stochastic cell fate choices by amplifying initial differences between equivalent cells. To study how stochastic events impact Notch activity, we developed a biosensor, SALSA (sensor able to detect lateral signaling activity), consisting of an amplifying "switch"-Notch tagged with TEV protease-and a "reporter"-GFP fused to a nuclearly localized red fluorescent protein, separated by a TEVp cut site. When ligand activates Notch, TEVp enters the nucleus and releases GFP from its nuclear tether, allowing Notch activation to be quantified based on the changes in GFP subcellular localization. We show that SALSA accurately reports Notch activity in different signaling paradigms in Caenorhabditis elegans and use time-lapse imaging to test hypotheses about how stochastic elements ensure a reproducible and robust outcome in a canonical lin-12/Notch-mediated lateral signaling paradigm. SALSA should be generalizable to other experimental systems and be adaptable to increase options for bespoke "SynNotch" applications.