Molecular Mechanism of Photozipper, a Light-Regulated Dimerizing Module Consisting of the bZIP and LOV Domains of Aureochrome-1

Photocontrol of small GTPase Ras fused with a photoresponsive protein

The small GTPase Ras plays an important role in intracellular signal transduction and functions as a molecular switch. In this study, we used a photoresponsive protein as the molecular regulatory device to photoregulate Ras GTPase activity. Photo zipper (PZ), a variant of the photoresponsive protein Aureochrome1 developed by Hisatomi et al. was incorporated into the C-terminus of Ras as a fusion protein. The three constructs of the Ras-PZ fusion protein had spacers of different lengths between Ras and PZ. They were designed using an Escherichia coli expression system. The Ras-PZ fusion proteins exhibited photoisomerization upon blue light irradiation and in the dark. Ras-PZ dimerized upon light irradiation. Moreover, Ras GTPase activity, which is accelerated by the Ras regulators guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase-activating proteins, is controlled by photoisomerization. It has been suggested that light-responsive proteins are applicable to the photoswitching of the enzymatic activity of small GTPases as photoregulatory molecular devices.

Spatiotemporal Control of Inflammatory Lytic Cell Death Through Optogenetic Induction of RIPK3 Oligomerization

Necroptosis is a programmed lytic cell death involving active cytokine production and plasma membrane rupture through distinct signaling cascades. However, it remains challenging to delineate this inflammatory cell death pathway at specific signaling nodes with spatiotemporal accuracy. To address this challenge, we developed an optogenetic system, termed Light-activatable Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase 3 or La-RIPK3, to enable ligand-free, optical induction of RIPK3 oligomerization. La-RIPK3 activation dissects RIPK3-centric lytic cell death through the induction of RIPK3-containing necrosome, which mediates cytokine production and plasma membrane rupture. Bulk RNA-Seq analysis reveals that RIPK3 oligomerization results in partially overlapped gene expression compared to pharmacological induction of necroptosis. Additionally, La-RIPK3 activates separated groups of genes regulated by RIPK3 kinase-dependent and -independent processes. Using patterned light stimulation delivered by a spatial light modulator, we demonstrate precise spatiotemporal control of necroptosis in La-RIPK3-transduced HT-29 cells. Optogenetic control of proinflammatory lytic cell death could lead to the development of innovative experimental strategies to finetune the immune landscape for disease intervention.

More than a photoreceptor: aureochromes are intrinsic to the diatom light-regulated transcriptional network

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Im SH, Lepetit B, Mosesso N, Shrestha S, Weiss L, Nymark M, Roellig R, Wilhelm C, Isono E, Kroth PG. 2024. Identification of promoter targets by Aureochrome 1a in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Journal of Experimental Botany 75, 1834–1851.

Light-regulated gene expression in Bacteria: Fundamentals, advances, and perspectives

Numerous photoreceptors and genetic circuits emerged over the past two decades and now enable the light-dependent i.e., optogenetic, regulation of gene expression in bacteria. Prompted by light cues in the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, gene expression can be up- or downregulated stringently, reversibly, non-invasively, and with precision in space and time. Here, we survey the underlying principles, available options, and prominent examples of optogenetically regulated gene expression in bacteria. While transcription initiation and elongation remain most important for optogenetic intervention, other processes e.g., translation and downstream events, were also rendered light-dependent. The optogenetic control of bacterial expression predominantly employs but three fundamental strategies: light-sensitive two-component systems, oligomerization reactions, and second-messenger signaling. Certain optogenetic circuits moved beyond the proof-of-principle and stood the test of practice. They enable unprecedented applications in three major areas. First, light-dependent expression underpins novel concepts and strategies for enhanced yields in microbial production processes. Second, light-responsive bacteria can be optogenetically stimulated while residing within the bodies of animals, thus prompting the secretion of compounds that grant health benefits to the animal host. Third, optogenetics allows the generation of precisely structured, novel biomaterials. These applications jointly testify to the maturity of the optogenetic approach and serve as blueprints bound to inspire and template innovative use cases of light-regulated gene expression in bacteria. Researchers pursuing these lines can choose from an ever-growing, versatile, and efficient toolkit of optogenetic circuits.

Dimerization processes for light-regulated transcription factor Photozipper visualized by high-speed atomic force microscopy

Dimerization is critical for transcription factors (TFs) to bind DNA and regulate a wide variety of cellular functions; however, the molecular mechanisms remain to be completely elucidated. Here, we used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to observe the dimerization process for a photoresponsive TF Photozipper (PZ), which consists of light–oxygen–voltage-sensing (LOV) and basic-region-leucine-zipper (bZIP) domains. HS-AFM visualized not only the oligomeric states of PZ molecules forming monomers and dimers under controlled dark–light conditions but also the domain structures within each molecule. Successive AFM movies captured the dimerization process for an individual PZ molecule and the monomer–dimer reversible transition during dark–light cycling. Detailed AFM images of domain structures in PZ molecules demonstrated that the bZIP domain entangled under dark conditions was loosened owing to light illumination and fluctuated around the LOV domain. These observations revealed the role of the bZIP domain in the dimerization processes of a TF.

Transmission of light signals from the light-oxygen-voltage core via the hydrophobic region of the β-sheet surface in aureochrome-1

Light-Oxygen-Voltage (LOV) domains are responsible for detecting blue light (BL) and regulating the activities of effector domains in various organisms. Photozipper (PZ), an N-terminally truncated aureochrome-1 protein, contains a LOV domain and a basic leucin zipper (bZIP) domain and plays a role as a light-activatable transcription factor. PZ is monomeric in the dark state and undergoes non-covalent dimerization upon illumination with BL, subsequently increasing its affinity for the target DNA. To clarify the molecular mechanism of aureochromes, we prepared site-directed mutants of PZ and performed quantitative analyses in the dark and light states. Although the amino acid substitutions in the hinge region between the LOV core and A’α helix had minor effects on the dimerization and DNA-binding properties of PZ, the substitutions in the β-sheet region of the LOV core and in the A’α helix significantly affected these properties. We found that light signals are transmitted from the LOV core to the effector bZIP domain via the hydrophobic residues on the β-sheet. The light-induced conformational change possibly deforms the hydrophobic regions of the LOV core and induces the detachment of the A’α helix to expose the dimerization surface, likely activating the bZIP domain in a light-dependent manner.

Light-regulated voltage-gated potassium channels for acute interrogation of channel function in neurons and behavior

Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels regulate the membrane potential and conductance of excitable cells to control the firing rate and waveform of action potentials. Even though Kv channels have been intensely studied for over 70 year, surprisingly little is known about how specific channels expressed in various neurons and their functional properties impact neuronal network activity and behavior in vivo. Although many in vivo genetic manipulations of ion channels have been tried, interpretation of these results is complicated by powerful homeostatic plasticity mechanisms that act to maintain function following perturbations in excitability. To better understand how Kv channels shape network function and behavior, we have developed a novel optogenetic technology to acutely regulate Kv channel expression with light by fusing the light-sensitive LOV domain of Vaucheria frigida Aureochrome 1 to the N-terminus of the Kv1 subunit protein to make an Opto-Kv1 channel. Recording of Opto-Kv1 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, mammalian cells, and neurons show that blue light strongly induces the current expression of Opto-Kv1 channels in all systems tested. We also find that an Opto-Kv1 construct containing a dominant-negative pore mutation (Opto-Kv1(V400D)) can be used to down-regulate Kv1 currents in a blue light-dependent manner. Finally, to determine whether Opto-Kv1 channels can elicit light-dependent behavioral effect in vivo, we targeted Opto-Kv1 (V400D) expression to Kv1.3-expressing mitral cells of the olfactory bulb in mice. Exposure of the bulb to blue light for 2–3 hours produced a significant increase in sensitivity to novel odors after initial habituation to a similar odor, comparable to behavioral changes seen in Kv1.3 knockout animals. In summary, we have developed novel photoactivatable Kv channels that provide new ways to interrogate neural circuits in vivo and to examine the roles of normal and disease-causing mutant Kv channels in brain function and behavior.

The Aureochrome Photoreceptor PtAUREO1a Is a Highly Effective Blue Light Switch in Diatoms

Aureochromes represent a unique type of blue light photoreceptors that possess a blue light sensing flavin-binding LOV-domain and a DNA-binding bZIP domain, thus being light-driven transcription factors. The diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a member of the essential marine primary producers, possesses four aureochromes (PtAUREO1a, 1b, 1c, 2). Here we show a dramatic change in the global gene expression pattern of P. tricornutum wild-type cells after a shift from red to blue light. About 75% of the genes show significantly changed transcript levels already after 10 and 60 min of blue light exposure, which includes genes of major transcription factors as well as other photoreceptors. Very surprisingly, this light-induced regulation of gene expression is almost completely inhibited in independent PtAureo1a knockout lines. Such a massive and fast transcriptional change depending on one single photoreceptor is so far unprecedented. We conclude that PtAUREO1a plays a key role in diatoms upon blue light exposure.

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Blue light induces a very fast transcriptional response in the diatom P. tricornutum

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This strong response is almost completely inhibited when Aureochrome 1a is absent

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The results imply a key role of PtAureo1a in blue light-induced responses in diatoms

Tailored flavoproteins acting as light-driven spin machines pump nuclear hyperpolarization

The solid-state photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) effect generates non-Boltzmann nuclear spin magnetization, referred to as hyperpolarization, allowing for high gain of sensitivity in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Well known to occur in photosynthetic reaction centers, the effect was also observed in a light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain of the blue-light receptor phototropin, in which the functional cysteine was removed to prevent photo-chemical reactions with the cofactor, a flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Upon illumination, the FMN abstracts an electron from a tryptophan to form a transient spin-correlated radical pair (SCRP) generating the photo-CIDNP effect. Here, we report on designed molecular spin-machines producing nuclear hyperpolarization upon illumination: a LOV domain of aureochrome1a from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and a LOV domain named 4511 from Methylobacterium radiotolerans (Mr4511) which lacks an otherwise conserved tryptophan in its wild-type form. Insertion of the tryptophan at canonical and novel positions in Mr4511 yields photo-CIDNP effects observed by 15N and 1H liquid-state high-resolution NMR with a characteristic magnetic-field dependence indicating an involvement of anisotropic magnetic interactions and a slow-motion regime in the transient paramagnetic state. The heuristic biomimetic design opens new categories of experiments to analyze and apply the photo-CIDNP effect.

Syntaxin Clustering and Optogenetic Control for Synaptic Membrane Fusion

Membrane fusion during synaptic transmission mediates the trafficking of chemical signals and neuronal communication. The fast kinetics of membrane fusion on the order of millisecond is precisely regulated by the assembly of SNAREs and accessory proteins. It is believed that the formation of the SNARE complex is a key step during membrane fusion. Little is known, however, about the molecular machinery that mediates the formation of a large pre-fusion complex, including multiple SNAREs and accessory proteins. Syntaxin, a transmembrane protein on the plasma membrane, has been observed to undergo oligomerization to form clusters. Whether this clustering plays a critical role in membrane fusion is poorly understood in live cells. Optogenetics is an emerging biotechnology armed with the capacity to precisely modulate protein-protein interaction in time and space. Here, we propose an experimental scheme that combines optogenetics with single-vesicle membrane fusion, aiming to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism by which the syntaxin cluster regulates membrane fusion. We envision that newly developed optogenetic tools could facilitate the mechanistic understanding of synaptic transmission in live cells and animals.

Molecular Mechanism of Light-Induced Conformational Switching of the LOV Domain in Aureochrome-1

Light oxygen voltage-sensing (LOV) domains are widely found in photoreceptor proteins of plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria. Structural studies of LOV domains suggest that Phe and Gln residues located in the proximity of the chromophore undergo conformational changes upon illumination; however, the molecular mechanism associated with activation of the effector domain remains to be elucidated. Photozipper (PZ) protein is an N-terminally truncated aureochrome-1 comprising a LOV domain and a basic leucine zipper domain. Blue light (BL) induces PZ dimerization and subsequently increases its affinity for target DNA. In this study, we prepared PZ mutants with substitutions of F298 and Q317 and performed quantitative analyses in dark and light states. Substitutions of Q317 significantly reduced the light-induced changes in PZ affinity for the target DNA, especially in the case of the high affinities observed in the dark state. Upon illumination, all PZ mutants showed increased affinity for the target sequence, which demonstrated a clear correlation with the dimer fraction of each PZ mutant. These results suggest the existence of a conformational equilibrium and that its shift by a synergistic interaction between the chromophore and protein moiety probably enables BL-regulated switching of aureochrome-1.

Dimerization of LOV domains of Rhodobacter sphaeroides (RsLOV) studied with FRET and stopped-flow experiments

LOV (light-oxygen-voltage) proteins function as light sensors in plants, fungi, and bacteria. RsLOV is unique as the light state is a monomer but the dark state is a dimer. These dimers exchange their monomer units on a time-scale of seconds.

Target Sequence Recognition by a Light-Activatable Basic Leucine Zipper Factor, Photozipper

Photozipper (PZ) is a light-activatable basic leucine zipper (bZIP) protein composed of a bZIP domain and a light-oxygen-voltage-sensing domain of aureochrome-1. Blue light induces dimerization and subsequently increases the affinity of PZ for the target DNA sequence. We prepared site-directed PZ mutants in which Asn131 (N131) in the basic region was substituted with Ala and Gln. N131 mutants showed spectroscopic and dimerization properties almost identical to those of wild-type PZ and an increase in helical content in the presence of the target sequence. Quantitative analyses by an electrophoretic mobility shift assay and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements demonstrated that the half-maximal effective concentrations of N131 mutants to bind to the target sequence were significantly higher than those of PZ. QCM data also revealed that N131 substitutions accelerated the dissociation without affecting the association, suggesting that a base-specific interaction of N131 occurred after the association between PZ and DNA. Activation of PZ by illumination decreased both the standard errors and the unstable period of QCM data. Optical control of transcription factors will provide new knowledge of the recognition of the target sequence.

Flavin-Radical Formation in the Light-Oxygen-Voltage-Sensing Domain of the Photozipper Blue-light Sensor Protein

Formation of the neutral flavin radical in the light-oxygen-voltage-sensing (LOV-sensing) domain of photozipper, based on VfAUREO1, was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The flavin radical was observed in the presence of dithiothreitol by illumination of a LOV-domain mutant (C254S), in which a photoactive cysteine residue in close proximity to flavin was replaced with a serine. The radical did not form under low initial protein-concentration conditions (less than 20 μM). The flavin radicals accumulated with logistic time-dependent kinetics when the protein concentrations were higher than 30 μM. These results indicate that the radical is produced by concerted reactions involving protein interactions and that the radical is formed from the LOV dimer but not the LOV monomer. In contrast, logistic time dependencies were not observed for the sample adapted to the dark following radical formation by illumination, indicating that initialization of the proton pathway is essential for this fast sensing reaction.

Quantitative analyses of the equilibria among DNA complexes of a blue-light-regulated bZIP module, Photozipper

Aureochrome1 is a blue-light-receptor protein identified in a stramenopile alga, Vaucheria frigida. Photozipper (PZ) is an N-terminally truncated, monomeric, V. frigida aureochrome1 fragment containing a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain and a light–oxygen–voltage (LOV)-sensing domain. PZ dimerizes upon photoexcitation and consequently increases its affinity for the target sequence. In the present study, to understand the equilibria among DNA complexes of PZ, DNA binding by PZ and mutational variants was quantitatively investigated by electrophoretic-mobility-shift assay and fluorescence-correlation spectroscopy in the dark and light states. DNA binding by PZ was sequence-specific and light-dependent. The half-maximal effective concentration of PZ for binding to the target DNA sequence was ~40 nM in the light, which was >10-fold less than the value in the dark. By contrast, the dimeric PZ-S₂C variant (with intermolecular disulfide bonds) had higher affinity for the target sequence, with dissociation constants of ~4 nM, irrespective of the light conditions. Substitutions of Glu159 and Lys164 in the leucine zipper region decreased the affinity of PZ for the target sequence, especially in the light, suggesting that these residues form inter-helical salt bridges between leucine zipper regions, stabilizing the dimer–DNA complex. Our quantitative analyses of the equilibria in PZ–DNA-complex formation suggest that the blue-light-induced dimerization of LOV domains and coiled-coil formation by leucine zipper regions are the primary determinants of the affinity of PZ for the target sequence.

Applications of Optobiology in Intact Cells and Multicellular Organisms

Temporal kinetics and spatial coordination of signal transduction in cells are vital for cell fate determination. Tools that allow for precise modulation of spatiotemporal regulation of intracellular signaling in intact cells and multicellular organisms remain limited. The emerging optobiological approaches use light to control protein-protein interaction in live cells and multicellular organisms. Optobiology empowers light-mediated control of diverse cellular and organismal functions such as neuronal activity, intracellular signaling, gene expression, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. In this review, we highlight recent developments in optobiology, focusing on new features of second-generation optobiological tools. We cover applications of optobiological approaches in the study of cellular and organismal functions, discuss current challenges, and present our outlook. Taking advantage of the high spatial and temporal resolution of light control, optobiology promises to provide new insights into the coordination of signaling circuits in intact cells and multicellular organisms.

Time-Resolved Detection of Light-Induced Dimerization of Monomeric Aureochrome-1 and Change in Affinity for DNA

Aureochrome (Aureo) is a recently discovered blue light sensor protein initially from Vaucheria frigida, in which it controls blue light-dependent branch formation and/or development of a sex organ by a light-dependent change in the affinity for DNA. Although photochemical reactions of Aureo-LOV (LOV is a C-terminal light-oxygen-voltage domain) and the N-terminal truncated construct containing a bZIP (N-terminal basic leucine zipper domain) and a LOV domain have previously been reported, the reaction kinetics of the change in affinity for DNA have never been elucidated. The reactions of Aureo where the cysteines are replaced by serines (AureoCS) as well as the kinetics of the change in affinity for a target DNA are investigated in the time-domain. The dimerization rate constant is obtained as 2.8 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1), which suggests that the photoinduced dimerization occurs in the LOV domain and the bZIP domain dimerizes using the interaction with DNA. Surprisingly, binding with the target DNA is completed very quickly, 7.7 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1), which is faster than the protein dimerization rate. It is proposed that the nonspecific electrostatic interaction, which is observed as a weak binding with DNA, may play a role in the efficient searching for the target sequence within the DNA.

Blue-light-regulated transcription factor, Aureochrome, in photosynthetic stramenopiles

During the course of evolution through various endosymbiotic processes, diverse photosynthetic eukaryotes acquired blue light (BL) responses that do not use photosynthetic pathways. Photosynthetic stramenopiles, which have red algae-derived chloroplasts through secondary symbiosis, are principal primary producers in aquatic environments, and play important roles in ecosystems and aquaculture. Through secondary symbiosis, these taxa acquired BL responses, such as phototropism, chloroplast photo-relocation movement, and photomorphogenesis similar to those which green plants acquired through primary symbiosis. Photosynthetic stramenopile BL receptors were undefined until the discovery in 2007, of a new type of BL receptor, the aureochrome (AUREO), from the photosynthetic stramenopile alga, Vaucheria. AUREO has a bZIP domain and a LOV domain, and thus BL-responsive transcription factor. AUREO orthologs are only conserved in photosynthetic stramenopiles, such as brown algae, diatoms, and red tide algae. Here, a brief review is presented of the role of AUREOs as photoreceptors for these diverse BL responses and their biochemical properties in photosynthetic stramenopiles.

Blue light-induced LOV domain dimerization enhances the affinity of Aureochrome 1a for its target DNA sequence

The design of synthetic optogenetic tools that allow precise spatiotemporal control of biological processes previously inaccessible to optogenetic control has developed rapidly over the last years. Rational design of such tools requires detailed knowledge of allosteric light signaling in natural photoreceptors. To understand allosteric communication between sensor and effector domains, characterization of all relevant signaling states is required. Here, we describe the mechanism of light-dependent DNA binding of the light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) transcription factor Aureochrome 1a from Phaeodactylum tricornutum (PtAu1a) and present crystal structures of a dark state LOV monomer and a fully light-adapted LOV dimer. In combination with hydrogen/deuterium-exchange, solution scattering data and DNA-binding experiments, our studies reveal a light-sensitive interaction between the LOV and basic region leucine zipper DNA-binding domain that together with LOV dimerization results in modulation of the DNA affinity of PtAu1a. We discuss the implications of these results for the design of synthetic LOV-based photosensors with application in optogenetics.

A light-regulated bZIP module, photozipper, induces the binding of fused proteins to the target DNA sequence in a blue light-dependent manner

Yellow fluorescent protein or mCherry protein fused with the Photozipper underwent blue light-induced dimerization, which enhanced their affinities for the target DNA.