Brief Communication abstract
Nature Neuroscience
Published online: 23 April 2008 | doi:10.1038/nn.2120
Red-shifted optogenetic excitation: a tool for fast neural control derived from Volvox carteri
Feng Zhang1, Matthias Prigge2, Florent Beyrière2, Satoshi P Tsunoda2, Joanna Mattis1, Ofer Yizhar1, Peter Hegemann2 & Karl Deisseroth1
The introduction of two microbial opsin–based tools, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) and halorhodopsin (NpHR), to neuroscience has generated interest in fast, multimodal, cell type–specific neural circuit control. Here we describe a cation-conducting channelrhodopsin (VChR1) from Volvox carteri that can drive spiking at 589 nm, with excitation maximum red-shifted 
70 nm compared with ChR2. These results demonstrate fast photostimulation with yellow light, thereby defining a functionally distinct third category of microbial rhodopsin proteins.
- Departments of Bioengineering and Psychiatry, W083 Clark Center, 318 Campus Drive, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
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Institute of Biology, Experimental Biophysics, Humboldt-University, Invalidenstra
e 42, D-10115 Berlin, Germany.
Correspondence to: Peter Hegemann2 e-mail: hegemape@rz.hu-berlin.de
Correspondence to: Karl Deisseroth1 e-mail: deissero@stanford.edu