In optogenetics, light-sensitive proteins are specifically expressed in target cells and light is used to precisely control the activity of these proteins at high spatiotemporal resolution. Optogenetics initially used naturally occurring photoreceptors to control neural circuits, but has expanded to include carefully designed and engineered photoreceptors. Several optogenetic constructs are based on plant photoreceptors, but their application to plant systems has been limited. Here, we present perspectives on the development of plant optogenetics, considering different levels of design complexity. We discuss how general principles of light-driven signal transduction can be coupled with approaches for engineering protein folding to develop novel optogenetic tools. Finally, we explore how the use of computation, networks, circular permutation, and directed evolution could enrich optogenetics.

在光遗传学中，光敏蛋白在靶细胞中特异性表达，光用于以高时空分辨率精确控制这些蛋白的活性。光遗传学最初使用自然发生的感光器来控制神经回路，但现在已经扩展到包括经过精心设计和设计的感光器。几种光遗传学构建体基于植物感光体，但是它们在植物系统中的应用受到限制。在这里，考虑到不同级别的设计复杂性，我们提出了植物光遗传学发展的观点。我们讨论如何将光驱动信号转导的一般原理与工程化蛋白质折叠的方法相结合，以开发新型的光遗传学工具。最后，我们探索如何使用计算，网络，循环置换，