Linked Life Data

16360690

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/16360690

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
24
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-12-19
pubmed:abstractText
For studying the function of specific neurons in their native circuitry, it is desired to precisely control their activity. This often requires dissection to allow accurate electrical stimulation or neurotransmitter application , and it is thus inherently difficult in live animals, especially in small model organisms. Here, we employed channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a directly light-gated cation channel from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, in excitable cells of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, to trigger specific behaviors, simply by illumination. Channelrhodopsins are 7-transmembrane-helix proteins that resemble the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin , and they also utilize the chromophore all-trans retinal, but to open an intrinsic cation pore. In muscle cells, light-activated ChR2 evoked strong, simultaneous contractions, which were reduced in the background of mutated L-type, voltage-gated Ca2+-channels (VGCCs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs). Electrophysiological analysis demonstrated rapid inward currents that persisted as long as the illumination. When ChR2 was expressed in mechanosensory neurons, light evoked withdrawal behaviors that are normally elicited by mechanical stimulation. Furthermore, ChR2 enabled activity of these neurons in mutants lacking the MEC-4/MEC-10 mechanosensory ion channel . Thus, specific neurons or muscles expressing ChR2 can be quickly and reversibly activated by light in live and behaving, as well as dissected, animals.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0960-9822
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
20
pubmed:volume
15
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2279-84
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2005
pubmed:articleTitle
Light activation of channelrhodopsin-2 in excitable cells of Caenorhabditis elegans triggers rapid behavioral responses.
pubmed:affiliation
Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't