Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens

Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens

The human immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against bacterial infections. It consists of various immune cells, each playing a specific role in the defense mechanism.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...

Other Unique Bacteria

Other Unique Bacteria

Magnetic bacteria exhibit a directed movement called magnetotaxis, driven by structures called magnetosomes. These magnetosomes consist of chains of magnetic particles made of either magnetite (Fe₃O₄) or greigite (Fe₃S₄) and are organized in a linear conformation by a protein scaffold within invaginations of the cell membrane. The bacteria align along the north–south magnetic field lines, much like a compass needle. They are typically microaerophilic or anaerobic...

Bacterial Signaling

Bacterial Signaling

Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...

Antibiotic Selection

Antibiotic Selection

Key Techniques in Microbiology

Key Techniques in Microbiology

Aseptic techniques prevent contamination, ensure experimental accuracy, and protect researchers and microbial cultures. These techniques are essential in clinical, industrial, and research settings where sterility is required.Maintaining Sterility in Laboratory PracticesScientists maintain sterility by sterilizing tools with heat or chemicals, disinfecting work surfaces, and handling cultures in controlled environments. Working near an open flame or within a laminar flow hood reduces the risk...

Stringent Response in E. coli

Stringent Response in E. coli

Bacterial growth is closely tied to nutrient availability, with cells proliferating exponentially under favorable conditions and entering a stationary phase when resources become scarce. This transition is mediated by a regulatory mechanism known as the stringent response, which allows bacteria to adapt to nutrient deprivation by modulating gene expression and metabolic activity.During nutrient scarcity, intracellular amino acid levels decline. It results in the accumulation of uncharged tRNAs...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Genomic analysis highlights a novel class of DPCF-type cyanobacteriochrome.

Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology·2026

Same author

Multimodal control of Cas13d activity through domain insertion at an allosteric hotspot.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Rorippa islandica is a genetically accessible dicot model system to study flooding tolerance.

Plant physiology·2026

Same author

Controlled Low-Oxygen Supply Enables Magnetosome Size Tuning by Uncoupling Magnetite Nucleation and Crystal Growth in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.

Microbial biotechnology·2026

Same author

The assembly rules guiding hetero-oligomeric bacterioferritin organization and their evolutionary signature.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Ultrafast, remote-controlled protonation reaction enables structural changes in a phytochrome.

Science advances·2025

Same journal

Restraint of melanoma progression by cells in the local skin environment.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Brawn before bite in endemic Asian eutherian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Experimental evolution to thermal stress indicates climate resilience in a cosmopolitan arthropod.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Correlates of protection against African swine fever virus identified by a systems immunology approach.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Retrosplenial cortex enables context-dependent goal-directed sensorimotor transformation.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Direct contact between iPSC-derived macrophages and hepatocytes drives reciprocal acquisition of Kupffer cell identity and hepatocyte maturation.

eLife·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Bacterial Detection & Identification Using Electrochemical Sensors

Bacterial Detection & Identification Using Electrochemical Sensors

Published on: April 23, 2013

Engineering NIR-sighted bacteria.

Stefanie S M Meier¹, Michael Hörzing¹, Cornelia Böhm^2,3

¹Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.

|November 3, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists engineered synthetic two-component systems (TCS) using bacterial photosensors. These systems enable precise control of gene expression with near-infrared (NIR) light in bacteria like E. coli.

Keywords:

E. coli bacterial phytochrome biochemistry chemical biology gene expression near-infrared light optogenetics sensor histidine kinase two-component system

More Related Videos

Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Probe Single Bacterium Chemistry

Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Probe Single Bacterium Chemistry

Published on: September 15, 2020

'Bioluminescent' Reporter Phage for the Detection of Category A Bacterial Pathogens

'Bioluminescent' Reporter Phage for the Detection of Category A Bacterial Pathogens

Published on: July 8, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Bacterial Detection & Identification Using Electrochemical Sensors

Bacterial Detection & Identification Using Electrochemical Sensors

Published on: April 23, 2013

Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Probe Single Bacterium Chemistry

Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Probe Single Bacterium Chemistry

Published on: September 15, 2020

'Bioluminescent' Reporter Phage for the Detection of Category A Bacterial Pathogens

'Bioluminescent' Reporter Phage for the Detection of Category A Bacterial Pathogens

Published on: July 8, 2011

Area of Science:

Synthetic biology
Microbiology
Genetics

Background:

Gene expression control is crucial for development and adaptation.
Two-component systems (TCS) in bacteria link environmental signals to gene expression.
Inducible gene expression is vital in research and biotechnology.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop novel synthetic TCS activated by near-infrared (NIR) light.
To enable precise and multiplexed control of gene expression in bacteria.
To investigate the light-sensing properties of bathy-phytochromes in synthetic systems.

Main Methods:

Harnessing rhizobial bathy-phytochrome photosensors.
Constructing synthetic TCS for Escherichia coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Utilizing NIR and visible light for orthogonal gene expression control.

Main Results:

Achieved stringent gene expression activation by NIR light.
Demonstrated multiplexed gene control using orthogonal TCS.
Observed minimal response to red light despite visible light sensitivity of bathy-phytochromes.
Showcased highly nonlinear responses of TCS to light signals.

Conclusions:

Synthetic TCS can be engineered for specific light-based gene control.
Bathy-phytochromes can be tuned for NIR-specificity or broad light sensitivity.
Light-controlled gene expression offers a powerful tool in microbiology and synthetic biology.