An open-hardware platform for optogenetics and photobiology.
In optogenetics, researchers use light and genetically encoded photoreceptors to control biological processes with unmatched precision. However, outside of neuroscience, the impact of optogenetics has been limited by a lack of user-friendly, flexible, accessible hardware. Here, we engineer the Light Plate Apparatus (LPA), a device that can deliver two independent 310 to 1550 nm light signals to each well of a 24-well plate with intensity control over three orders of magnitude and millisecond resolution. Signals are programmed using an intuitive web tool named Iris. All components can be purchased for under $400 and the device can be assembled and calibrated by a non-expert in one day. We use the LPA to precisely control gene expression from blue, green, and red light responsive optogenetic tools in bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells and simplify the entrainment of cyanobacterial circadian rhythm. The LPA dramatically reduces the entry barrier to optogenetics and photobiology experiments.
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Karl P
KP
Gerhardt
Graduate Program in Applied Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Evan J
EJ
Olson
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Sebastian M
SM
Castillo-Hair
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Lucas A
LA
Hartsough
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Brian P
BP
Landry
Ph.D. Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Felix
F
Ekness
Department of Molecular &Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
Rayka
R
Yokoo
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Eric J
EJ
Gomez
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Prabha
P
Ramakrishnan
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.|Ph.D. Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.|Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Junghae
J
Suh
Department of Molecular &Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.|Department of Chemistry, University of California, California, USA.
David F
DF
Savage
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.|Ph.D. Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.|Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Jeffrey J
JJ
Tabor
D002138:Calibration; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004867:Equipment Design; D015870:Gene Expression; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D062308:Optogenetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018462:Photobiology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D046940:Synechococcus; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins