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7 Janelia Publications

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    Looger LabSchreiter Lab
    12/02/11 | Structure of the escherichia coli phosphonate binding protein PhnD and rationally optimized phosphonate biosensors.
    Alicea I, Marvin JS, Miklos AE, Ellington AD, Looger LL, Schreiter ER
    Journal of Molecular Biology. 2011 Dec 2;414(3):356-69. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2011.09.047

    The phnD gene of Escherichia coli encodes the periplasmic binding protein of the phosphonate (Pn) uptake and utilization pathway. We have crystallized and determined structures of E. coli PhnD (EcPhnD) in the absence of ligand and in complex with the environmentally abundant 2-aminoethylphosphonate (2AEP). Similar to other bacterial periplasmic binding proteins, 2AEP binds near the center of mass of EcPhnD in a cleft formed between two lobes. Comparison of the open, unliganded structure with the closed 2AEP-bound structure shows that the two lobes pivot around a hinge by \~{}70° between the two states. Extensive hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions stabilize 2AEP, which binds to EcPhnD with low nanomolar affinity. These structures provide insight into Pn uptake by bacteria and facilitated the rational design of high signal-to-noise Pn biosensors based on both coupled small-molecule dyes and autocatalytic fluorescent proteins.

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    Looger LabSchreiter Lab
    11/01/11 | A genetically encoded, high-signal-to-noise maltose sensor.
    Marvin JS, Schreiter ER, Echevarría IM, Looger LL
    Proteins. 2011 Nov;79:3025-36. doi: 10.1002/prot.23118

    We describe the generation of a family of high-signal-to-noise single-wavelength genetically encoded indicators for maltose. This was achieved by insertion of circularly permuted fluorescent proteins into a bacterial periplasmic binding protein (PBP), Escherichia coli maltodextrin-binding protein, resulting in a four-color family of maltose indicators. The sensors were iteratively optimized to have sufficient brightness and maltose-dependent fluorescence increases for imaging, under both one- and two-photon illumination. We demonstrate that maltose affinity of the sensors can be tuned in a fashion largely independent of the fluorescent readout mechanism. Using literature mutations, the binding specificity could be altered to moderate sucrose preference, but with a significant loss of affinity. We use the soluble sensors in individual E. coli bacteria to observe rapid maltose transport across the plasma membrane, and membrane fusion versions of the sensors on mammalian cells to visualize the addition of maltose to extracellular media. The PBP superfamily includes scaffolds specific for a number of analytes whose visualization would be critical to the reverse engineering of complex systems such as neural networks, biosynthetic pathways, and signal transduction cascades. We expect the methodology outlined here to be useful in the development of indicators for many such analytes.

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    Looger LabSternson Lab
    09/02/11 | Chemical and genetic engineering of selective ion channel-ligand interactions.
    Magnus CJ, Lee PH, Atasoy D, Su HH, Looger LL, Sternson SM
    Science. 2011 Sep 2;333(6047):1292-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1206606

    Ionic flux mediates essential physiological and behavioral functions in defined cell populations. Cell type-specific activators of diverse ionic conductances are needed for probing these effects. We combined chemistry and protein engineering to enable the systematic creation of a toolbox of ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) with orthogonal pharmacologic selectivity and divergent functional properties. The LGICs and their small-molecule effectors were able to activate a range of ionic conductances in genetically specified cell types. LGICs constructed for neuronal perturbation could be used to selectively manipulate neuron activity in mammalian brains in vivo. The diversity of ion channel tools accessible from this approach will be useful for examining the relationship between neuronal activity and animal behavior, as well as for cell biological and physiological applications requiring chemical control of ion conductance.

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    Looger Lab
    08/01/11 | Two-photon calcium imaging of evoked activity from L5 somatosensory neurons in vivo.
    Mittmann W, Wallace DJ, Czubayko U, Herb JT, Schaefer AT, Looger LL, Denk W, Kerr JN
    Nature Neuroscience. 2011 Aug;14(8):1089-93. doi: 10.1038/nn.2879

    Multiphoton imaging (MPI) is widely used for recording activity simultaneously from many neurons in superficial cortical layers in vivo. We combined regenerative amplification multiphoton microscopy (RAMM) with genetically encoded calcium indicators to extend MPI of neuronal population activity into layer 5 (L5) of adult mouse somatosensory cortex. We found that this approach could be used to record and quantify spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity in populations of L5 neuronal somata located as much as 800 μm below the pia. In addition, we found that RAMM could be used to simultaneously image activity from large (80) populations of apical dendrites and follow these dendrites down to their somata of origin.

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    Looger LabSimpson Lab
    03/01/11 | Drosophila brainbow: a recombinase-based fluorescence labeling technique to subdivide neural expression patterns.
    Hampel S, Chung P, McKellar CE, Hall D, Looger LL, Simpson JH
    Nature Methods. 2011 Mar;8:253-9. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.1566

    We developed a multicolor neuron labeling technique in Drosophila melanogaster that combines the power to specifically target different neural populations with the label diversity provided by stochastic color choice. This adaptation of vertebrate Brainbow uses recombination to select one of three epitope-tagged proteins detectable by immunofluorescence. Two copies of this construct yield six bright, separable colors. We used Drosophila Brainbow to study the innervation patterns of multiple antennal lobe projection neuron lineages in the same preparation and to observe the relative trajectories of individual aminergic neurons. Nerve bundles, and even individual neurites hundreds of micrometers long, can be followed with definitive color labeling. We traced motor neurons in the subesophageal ganglion and correlated them to neuromuscular junctions to identify their specific proboscis muscle targets. The ability to independently visualize multiple lineage or neuron projections in the same preparation greatly advances the goal of mapping how neurons connect into circuits.

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    Looger LabLeonardo Lab
    02/23/11 | Imaging light responses of targeted neuron populations in the rodent retina.
    Borghuis BG, Tian L, Xu Y, Nikonov SS, Vardi N, Zemelman BV, Looger LL
    The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2011 Feb 23;31:2855-67. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6064-10.2011

    Decoding the wiring diagram of the retina requires simultaneous observation of activity in identified neuron populations. Available recording methods are limited in their scope: electrodes can access only a small fraction of neurons at once, whereas synthetic fluorescent indicator dyes label tissue indiscriminately. Here, we describe a method for studying retinal circuitry at cellular and subcellular levels combining two-photon microscopy and a genetically encoded calcium indicator. Using specific viral and promoter constructs to drive expression of GCaMP3, we labeled all five major neuron classes in the adult mouse retina. Stimulus-evoked GCaMP3 responses as imaged by two-photon microscopy permitted functional cell type annotation. Fluorescence responses were similar to those measured with the small molecule dye OGB-1. Fluorescence intensity correlated linearly with spike rates >10 spikes/s, and a significant change in fluorescence always reflected a significant change in spike firing rate. GCaMP3 expression had no apparent effect on neuronal function. Imaging at subcellular resolution showed compartment-specific calcium dynamics in multiple identified cell types.

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    Looger Lab
    06/01/12 | Imaging neural activity with genetically encoded calcium indicator.
    Tian L, Hires A, Looger LL
    Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. 2012 Jun 1;2012(6):647-56

    Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs), which are based on chimeric fluorescent proteins, can be used to monitor calcium transients in living cells and organisms. Because they are encoded by DNA, GECIs can be delivered to the intact brain noninvasively and targeted to defined populations of neurons and specific subcellular compartments for long-term, repeated measurements in vivo. GECIs have improved iteratively and are becoming useful for imaging neural activity in vivo. Here we summarize extrinsic and intrinsic factors that influence a GECI's performance and provides guidelines for selecting the appropriate GECI for a given application. We also review recent progress in GECI design, optimization, and standardized testing protocols.

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