Spatial and temporal control of expression with light-gated LOV-LexA

Abstract

The ability to drive expression of exogenous genes in different tissues and cell types, under control of specific enhancers, has catapulted discovery in biology. While many enhancers drive expression broadly, several genetic tricks have been developed to obtain access to isolated cell types. However, studies of topographically organized neuropiles, such as the optic lobe in fruit flies, have raised the need for a system that can access subsets of cells within a single neuron type, a feat currently dependent on stochastic flip-out methods. To access the same subsets of cells consistently across flies, we developed LOV-LexA, a light-gated expression system based on the bacterial LexA transcription factor and the plant-derived LOV photosensitive domain. Expression of LOV-Lex in larval fat body as well as pupal and adult neurons enables spatial and temporal control of expression of transgenes under LexAop sequences with blue light. The LOV-LexA tool thus provides another layer of intersectional genetics, allowing for light-controlled genetic access to the same subsets of cells within an expression pattern across individual flies.

An international scholastic network to generate LexA enhancer-trap lines forDrosophila

“…Indices of practical outcomes from our work include steady requests for LexA enhancer trap lines (currently >450 Stan-X lines) from the Drosophila Bloomington Stock Center, and citations noting Stan-X fly strain use in 24 publications since 2016 (e.g., Ribeiro et al, 2022; Lee et al, 2021; Zhou et al, 2020; Cohen et al, 2018). Our interscholastic partnerships and classroom-based research have expanded to include fifteen high schools and three universities on three continents ( Figure 5 ).…”