title: Lights on and action! Controlling microbial gene expression by light.
abstract: Light-mediated control of gene expression and thus of any protein function and metabolic process in living microbes is a rapidly developing field of research in the areas of functional genomics, systems biology, and biotechnology. The unique physical properties of the environmental factor light allow for an independent photocontrol of various microbial processes in a noninvasive and spatiotemporal fashion. This mini review describes recently developed strategies to generate photo-sensitive expression systems in bacteria and yeast. Naturally occurring and artificial photoswitches consisting of light-sensitive input domains derived from different photoreceptors and regulatory output domains are presented and individual properties of light-controlled expression systems are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Stetternicher Forst, 52426, Jülich, Germany. t.drepper@fz-juelich.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Drepper
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meyer zu Berstenhorst
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pietruszka
authors.forename: Karl-Erich
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Jaeger
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000528:radiation effects*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008027:Light; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial