Wachten laboratory

Optogenetics

Tool development

Project details

We develop optogenetic tools and genetically encoded biosensors to manipulate and analyze cellular signaling with a focus on subcellular compartments. In addition, we are aiming to transfer tools that allow to control gene expression by light to immune cells in vitro and in vivo.

Project-related publications

Nanobody-directed targeting of optogenetic tools to study signaling in the primary cilium

Hansen JN, Kaiser F, Klausen C, Stüven B, Chong R, Bönigk W, Mick DU, Möglich A, Jurisch-Yaksi N, Schmidt FI, Wachten D.

Elife. 2020 Jun 24;9:e57907. doi: 10.7554/eLife.57907.

Revisiting and Redesigning Light-Activated Cyclic-Mononucleotide Phosphodiesterases

Stabel R, Stüven B, Hansen JN, Körschen HG, Wachten D, Möglich A.

J Mol Biol. 2019 Aug 9;431(17):3029-3045. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.07.011. Epub 2019 Jul 10.

Shedding light on the role of cAMP in mammalian sperm physiology

Balbach M, Beckert V, Hansen JN, Wachten D.

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2018 Jun 15;468:111-120. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2017.11.008. Epub 2017 Nov 13.

A novel biosensor to study cAMP dynamics in cilia and flagella

Mukherjee S, Jansen V, Jikeli JF, Hamzeh H, Alvarez L, Dombrowski M, Balbach M, Strünker T, Seifert R, Kaupp UB, Wachten D.

Elife. 2016 Mar 22;5:e14052. doi: 10.7554/eLife.14052.

Controlling fertilization and cAMP signaling in sperm by optogenetics

Jansen V, Alvarez L, Balbach M, Strünker T, Hegemann P, Kaupp UB, Wachten D.

Elife. 2015 Jan 20;4:e05161. doi: 10.7554/eLife.05161.

A cAMP signalosome in primary cilia drives gene expression and kidney cyst formation

Hansen JN, Kaiser F, Leyendecker P, Stüven B, Krause JH, Derakhshandeh F, Irfan J, Sroka TJ, Preval KM, Desai PB, Kraut M, Theis H, Drews AD, De-Domenico E, Händler K, Pazour GJ, Henderson DJP, Mick DU, Wachten D