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Channelrhodopsin engineering and exploration of new optogenetic tools

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Rhodopsins from microalgae and eubacteria are powerful tools for manipulating the function of neurons and other cells, but these tools still have limitations. We discuss engineering approaches that can help advance optogenetics.

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Figure 1: A simplified kinetic model of channelrhodopsin function.
Figure 2: Structural model of a channelrhodopsin.

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  1. Department of Biology, Peter Hegemann and Andreas Möglich are at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,

    Peter Hegemann & Andreas Möglich

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  1. Peter Hegemann
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  2. Andreas Möglich
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Correspondence to Peter Hegemann.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hegemann, P., Möglich, A. Channelrhodopsin engineering and exploration of new optogenetic tools. Nat Methods 8, 39–42 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.f.327

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