REVIEW: Channelrhodopsins: From Phototaxis to Optogenetics

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Elena G. Govorunova and Oleg A. Sineshchekov^a*

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received June 24, 2023; Revised July 9, 2023; Accepted July 9, 2023

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Channelrhodopsins stand out among other retinal proteins because of their capacity to generate passive ionic currents following photoactivation. Owing to that, channelrhodopsins are widely used in neuroscience and cardiology as instruments for optogenetic manipulation of the activity of excitable cells. Photocurrents generated by channelrhodopsins were first discovered in the cells of green algae in the 1970s. In this review we describe this discovery and discuss the current state of research in the field.

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KEY WORDS: rhodopsins, ion channels, photoreception, membrane potential, flagellate algae, neurons

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297923100115

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