• search hit 1 of 1
Back to Result List

Optogenetic Long-Term Manipulation of Behavior and Animal Development

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141250
  • Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is widely used for rapid photodepolarization of neurons, yet, as it requires high-intensity blue light for activation, it is not suited for long-term in vivo applications, e. g. for manipulations of behavior, or photoactivation of neurons during development. We used "slow" ChR2 variants with mutations in the C128 residue, that exhibit delayed off-kinetics and increased light sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Following a 1 s light pulse, we could photodepolarize neurons and muscles for minutes (and with repeatedChannelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is widely used for rapid photodepolarization of neurons, yet, as it requires high-intensity blue light for activation, it is not suited for long-term in vivo applications, e. g. for manipulations of behavior, or photoactivation of neurons during development. We used "slow" ChR2 variants with mutations in the C128 residue, that exhibit delayed off-kinetics and increased light sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Following a 1 s light pulse, we could photodepolarize neurons and muscles for minutes (and with repeated brief stimulation, up to days) with low-intensity light. Photoactivation of ChR2(C128S) in command interneurons elicited long-lasting alterations in locomotion. Finally, we could optically induce profound changes in animal development: Long-term photoactivation of ASJ neurons, which regulate larval growth, bypassed the constitutive entry into the "dauer" larval state in daf-11 mutants. These lack a guanylyl cyclase, which possibly renders ASJ neurons hyperpolarized. Furthermore, photostimulated ASJ neurons could acutely trigger dauer-exit. Thus, slow ChR2s can be employed to long-term photoactivate behavior and to trigger alternative animal development.show moreshow less

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author: Christian Schultheis, Jana Fiona Liewald, Ernst Bamberg, Georg Nagel, Alexander Gottschalk
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141250
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Fakultät für Biologie / Julius-von-Sachs-Institut für Biowissenschaften
Language:English
Parent Title (English):PLoS ONE
Year of Completion:2011
Volume:6
Issue:4
Pagenumber:e18766
Source:PLoS ONE 6(4): e18766. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018766
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018766
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Tag:C-elegans; Channelrhodopsin-2; Chemosensory neurons; Dauer formation; Glutamate-receptor; Larval development; Millisecond-timescale; Nematode Caenorhabditis-elegans; Optical control; Pheromone
Release Date:2019/01/09
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung