Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), the first widely adopted optogenetic tool, is also a blue light activated cation channel. ChR2 is preferred over ChR1 because ChR2 has higher conductance at physiological pH and trafficks well to the membrane.

Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has become an indispensable tool in neuroscience, allowing precise induction of action potentials with short light pulses. A limiting factor for many optophysiological experiments is the relatively small photocurrent induced by ChR2.

As the founding member of the optogenetic field, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) derived from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has transformed the neuroscience field by enabling precise control of neural circuits with light both in vitro and in vivo 7–9.

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.

Channelrhodopsin-1 (ChR1) and Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) from the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are the first discovered channelrhodopsins. Variants that are sensitive to different colors of light or selective for specific ions (ACRs, KCRs) have been cloned from other species of algae and protists .

Sep 4, 2021 · In the present study optogenetics was used to stimulate astrocytes with the aim to modulate neuronal activity. To achieve this goal, light stimulation was applied to astrocytes expressing a version of ChR2 (ionotropic opsin) or Opto-α1AR (metabotropic opsin).

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...

There are two versions of the ChR2 sequence, one containing the wildtype sequence and another containing condons optimized for mammalian expression (hChR2). In-frame fusions to mCherry or EYFP are available to make visualization of ChR2-expressing cells easier.

Sep 8, 2014 · Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is a microbial-type rhodopsin that can be genetically expressed to depolarize neurons with light. Thereby, this “optogenetic tool” delivers cellular specificity and elegant options for studying the neuronal basis of behavior in intact organisms.

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 ...