Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Insights Into The Cation Permeation Pathway Of Channelrhodopsin-2, Robert Dempski, Ryan Richards

Robert E. Dempski

Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is a light-activated, non-selective cation channel endogenous to the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The unique properties of ChR2 have made it a useful tool in the field of optogenetics. However, the mechanism of ion conductance is not well resolved. Elucidation of the crystal structure of the channelrhodopsin chimera C1C2 has provided structural insight on the putative ChR2 ion conductance pathway. However, it is not clear how the chimeric structure correlates to ChR2 function.