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Chlorophyll-Based Optogenetics to Control Membraneless Organelles
Manjia Li1, Byung Min Park1,2, Zhaoxia Li3
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|December 26, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a novel optogenetic tool using water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) to control membraneless organelles (MLOs). Red light triggers WSCP to induce MLOs
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Membraneless organelles (MLOs) are crucial for cellular functions and implicated in diseases.
- Current tools for studying and controlling MLOs in living systems are limited.
- Protein phase separation is a key mechanism in MLO formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel optogenetic tool for controlling synthetic MLOs.
- To investigate the use of water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) for MLO manipulation.
- To enable biological regulation at the subcellular level using light-inducible protein crosslinking.
Main Methods:
- Engineering a red light-inducible singlet oxygen-generating protein (WSCP).
- Incorporating WSCP into synthetic MLOs.
- Utilizing red light to trigger WSCP-mediated singlet oxygen production.
- Observing the liquid-to-solid phase transition of MLOs upon light exposure.
Main Results:
- Successful reconstitution of WSCP in living cells.
- Red light exposure induced singlet oxygen generation by WSCP.
- Singlet oxygen triggered protein crosslinking within MLOs.
- Demonstrated liquid-to-solid phase transition of synthetic MLOs.
Conclusions:
- WSCP serves as an effective optogenetic tool to control MLOs.
- Red light-inducible singlet oxygen generation can modulate MLO phase behavior.
- This approach offers a new strategy for subcellular biological regulation.
