Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5239, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Martin Spichty
Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5239, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Gérard Triqueneaux
Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5239, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Christophe Place
Laboratory of Physics, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5672, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Philippe Emmanuel Mangeot
CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Universite de Lyon, Inserm, U1111, CNRS, UMR5308, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
Théophile Ohlmann
CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Universite de Lyon, Inserm, U1111, CNRS, UMR5308, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
Franck Vittoz
Laboratory of Physics, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5672, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, Universite de Lyon, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5239, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Optogenetics enables genome manipulations with high spatiotemporal resolution, opening exciting possibilities for fundamental and applied biological research. Here, we report the development of LiCre, a novel light-inducible Cre recombinase. LiCre is made of a single flavin-containing protein comprising the AsLOV2 photoreceptor domain of Avena sativa fused to a Cre variant carrying destabilizing mutations in its N-terminal and C-terminal domains. LiCre can be activated within minutes of illumination with blue light without the need of additional chemicals. When compared to existing photoactivatable Cre recombinases based on two split units, LiCre displayed faster and stronger activation by light as well as a lower residual activity in the dark. LiCre was efficient both in yeast, where it allowed us to control the production of β-carotene with light, and human cells. Given its simplicity and performances, LiCre is particularly suited for fundamental and biomedical research, as well as for controlling industrial bioprocesses.