Expressed in cells of other organisms, they enable light to control electrical excitability, intracellular acidity, calcium influx, and other cellular processes (see optogenetics). Channelrhodopsin-1 (ChR1) and Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) from the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are the first discovered

The introduction of Channelrhodopsin (ChR2) from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has sparked excitement not only in the neurons that express it, but also in many neuroscientists. ChR2 is a light-gated cation channel that activates neurons in …

Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are light-activated channels from algae that provide these organisms with fast sensors to visible light for phototaxis. Since its discovery, Channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2) has been utilised as a research tool to depolarise membranes of excitable cells with light.

ChR2, a directly light-gated cation channel of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, allows depolarizing and firing neurons with brief blue light pulses (1, 2). Because the single channel conductance of ChR2 is very small, high expression levels are required to fire neurons reliably.

Apr 12, 2021 · Optogenetic tools such as channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) enable the manipulation and mapping of neural circuits. However, ChR2 variants selectively transported down a neuron’s long-range axonal...

Apr 19, 2007 · Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is a light-gated, cation-selective ion channel isolated from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Here, we report the generation of transgenic mice that express a ChR2-YFP fusion protein in the CNS for in …

Sep 15, 2017 · Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are naturally occurring light-gated ion channels that are important for allowing motile algal cells to find suitable light levels. In neuroscience, ChRs have become broadly significant for helping to enable the control of specific circuit elements with light (i.e., optogenetics).

Feb 13, 2025 · Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has a retinal as the chromophore group and is activated by blue light at around 470 nm with conformational change from the closed (ground state) to the open state and permeates cations, especially Na+ ions.

Oct 15, 2008 · This all-optical method of identification, activation, and detection of ChR2-induced cellular activation in genetically targeted cells with high spatial and temporal resolution will provide a new method of performing minimally invasive in-depth activation of specific target areas of tissues or organisms that have been rendered photosensitive by ...

May 1, 2014 · Well-defined conditions require expressing ChR2 in a host cell and holding the membrane potential (voltage-clamp) at a constant ionic composition of the medium. The resulting light-induced current, the photocurrent, gives a measure of the net flow of cations.