A Short and Practical Overview on Light-Sensing Proteins, Optogenetics, and Fluorescent Biomolecules inside Biomorphs Used as Optical Sensors

Abstract

In this contribution, we describe a brief overview of the role of different light-signaling proteins in different biochemical processes (mostly in plants) along the electromagnetic spectrum. We also revise, in terms of perspectives, the applications of all these proteins to optogenetics as a new emerging field of research. In the second part, we present some case studies: First, we used two fluorescent proteins showing an optical response in the green- and red-light wavelengths both isolated from marines’ organisms, which were incorporated as light sensors into the silico-carbonate of Ca, Ba, and Sr (usually called biomorphs). The second case study consisted in incorporating phototropins from a plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) into the synthesis of biomorphs. Finally, the last part analyses the influence of these three proteins on the shape and structure in the synthesis of silico-carbonates of calcium, barium, and strontium as optical sensors, in order to detect the location of these biomolecules inside these self-assembly crystalline materials called biomorphs.