Robust and versatile technologies that enable optical modulation of transcription in the mammalian endogenous genome have been difficult to achieve for a while. To solve this problem, scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard developed light-inducible transcriptional effectors (LITEs) — an optogenetic two-hybrid system integrating the TALE DNA-binding domain with a light-sensitive cryptochrome 2 protein and its partner CIB1 from the Arabidopsis thaliana plant.
LITEs can be customized to target many endogenous genomic loci and can be quickly activated with reversibility, while not requiring any additional exogenous chemical co-factors. Furthermore, LITEs can probe specific cell populations by genetic targeting and be packaged into viral vectors. They have applied this system in primary mouse neurons and in the brain of freely behaving mice in vivo, to “mediate reversible modulation of mammalian endogenous gene expression as well as targeted epigenetic chromatin modifications.”
The LITE system is a novel method of optogenetic control of endogenous cellular processes which can enable direct testing of genetic and epigenetic regulation in both normal and disease states.
For more details, see the published article (Nature 500, 472–476, Aug, 2013).
Loss of elasticity is one of the most recognizable signs of skin aging. As skin…
Why can two people encounter the same infection but experience very different symptoms? Age, health,…
CRISPR is best known for cutting and changing DNA. Now, researchers are using the technology…
Skin aging is often described as a normal part of getting older. With time, the…
Age is usually counted in birthdays, but biology does not always follow the calendar. Two…
For years, scientists have studied why some organisms live longer than others. While genes play…