TY - JOUR
T1 - Illuminating developmental biology with cellular optogenetics
AU - Johnson, Heath E.
AU - Toettcher, Jared E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the optogenetics and developmental biology communities, whose support and openness to collaboration makes work at this interface so productive and exciting. We also apologize for any omissions in citations due to space limitations. This work was supported by NIH grant DP2EB024247 (to J.E.T.) and an NIH Kirschstein postdoctoral fellowship F32GM119297 (to H.E.J.).
PY - 2018/8
Y1 - 2018/8
N2 - In developmental biology, localization is everything. The same stimulus — cell signaling event or expression of a gene — can have dramatically different effects depending on the time, spatial position, and cell types in which it is applied. Yet the field has long lacked the ability to deliver localized perturbations with high specificity in vivo. The advent of optogenetic tools, capable of delivering highly localized stimuli, is thus poised to profoundly expand our understanding of development. We describe the current state-of-the-art in cellular optogenetic tools, review the first wave of major studies showcasing their application in vivo, and discuss major obstacles that must be overcome if the promise of developmental optogenetics is to be fully realized.
AB - In developmental biology, localization is everything. The same stimulus — cell signaling event or expression of a gene — can have dramatically different effects depending on the time, spatial position, and cell types in which it is applied. Yet the field has long lacked the ability to deliver localized perturbations with high specificity in vivo. The advent of optogenetic tools, capable of delivering highly localized stimuli, is thus poised to profoundly expand our understanding of development. We describe the current state-of-the-art in cellular optogenetic tools, review the first wave of major studies showcasing their application in vivo, and discuss major obstacles that must be overcome if the promise of developmental optogenetics is to be fully realized.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.02.003
DO - 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.02.003
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29505976
AN - SCOPUS:85042692458
SN - 0958-1669
VL - 52
SP - 42
EP - 48
JO - Current Opinion in Biotechnology
JF - Current Opinion in Biotechnology
ER -