Engineering of a light-gated potassium channel

The present palette of opsin-based optogenetic tools lacks a light-gated potassium (K⁺) channel desirable for silencing of excitable cells. Here, we describe the construction of a blue-light-induced K⁺ channel 1 (BLINK1) engineered by fusing the plant LOV2-Jα photosensory module to the small viral K⁺ channel Kcv. BLINK1 exhibits biophysical features of Kcv, including K⁺ selectivity and high single-channel conductance, but reversibly photoactivates in blue light. Opening of BLINK1 channels hyperpolarizes the cell to the K⁺ equilibrium potential. Ectopic expression of BLINK1 reversibly inhibits the escape response in light-exposed zebrafish larvae. BLINK1 therefore provides a single-component optogenetic tool that can establish prolonged, physiological hyperpolarization of cells at low light intensities.