Rapid and robust optogenetic control of gene expression in Drosophila
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Florencia di Pietro Sophie Hodara Herszterg Anqi Huang Floris Bosveld Cyrille Alexandre Lucas Sancéré Stéphane Pelletier Amina Joudat Varun Kapoor Jean-Paul Vincent Yohanns BellaïcheAbstract
Deciphering gene function requires the ability to control gene expression in space and time. Binary systems such as the Gal4/UAS provide a powerful means to modulate gene expression and to induce loss or gain of function. This is best exemplified in Drosophila, where the Gal4/UAS system has been critical to discover conserved mechanisms in development, physiology, neurobiology, and metabolism, to cite a few. Here we describe a transgenic light-inducible Gal4/UAS system (ShineGal4/UAS) based on Magnet photoswitches. We show that it allows efficient, rapid, and robust activation of UAS-driven transgenes in different tissues and at various developmental stages in Drosophila. Furthermore, we illustrate how ShineGal4 enables the generation of gain and loss-of-function phenotypes at animal, organ, and cellular levels. Thanks to the large repertoire of UAS-driven transgenes, ShineGal4 enriches the Drosophila genetic toolkit by allowing in vivo control of gene expression with high temporal and spatial resolutions.
Journal details
Journal Developmental Cell
Volume 56
Issue number 24
Pages 3393-3404.e7
Available online
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Publisher website (DOI) 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.11.016
Europe PubMed Central 34879263
Pubmed 34879263
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