Department of Ecophysiology, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 10, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
SYNMIKRO, LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2022 Mar 3;46(2). doi: 10.1093/femsre/fuab055.
Optogenetics holds the promise of controlling biological processes with superb temporal and spatial resolution at minimal perturbation. Although many of the light-reactive proteins used in optogenetic systems are derived from prokaryotes, applications were largely limited to eukaryotes for a long time. In recent years, however, an increasing number of microbiologists use optogenetics as a powerful new tool to study and control key aspects of bacterial biology in a fast and often reversible manner. After a brief discussion of optogenetic principles, this review provides an overview of the rapidly growing number of optogenetic applications in bacteria, with a particular focus on studies venturing beyond transcriptional control. To guide future experiments, we highlight helpful tools, provide considerations for successful application of optogenetics in bacterial systems, and identify particular opportunities and challenges that arise when applying these approaches in bacteria.
光遗传学有望以最小的干扰实现对生物过程的精确时空控制。尽管光遗传学系统中使用的许多光反应蛋白源自原核生物，但很长一段时间以来，其应用主要局限于真核生物。然而，近年来，越来越多的微生物学家将光遗传学作为一种强大的新工具，以快速且通常是可逆的方式研究和控制细菌生物学的关键方面。在简要讨论光遗传学原理之后，本综述概述了在细菌中不断增加的光遗传学应用，特别关注超越转录控制的研究。为了指导未来的实验，我们强调了有用的工具，为光遗传学在细菌系统中的成功应用提供了考虑因素，并确定了在细菌中应用这些方法时出现的特殊机会和挑战。
