In the plant circadian clock photoreceptor ZEITLUPE, evolutionarily selected residues distinguish photocycle kinetics and allosteric signal transduction pathways to permit proper circadian timing.

Light absorption by the algal transcription factor Aureochrome 1a causes dimerization at the light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) sensing domain, which has implications for the design of synthetic photoreceptors for optogenetics.

SPARK2 allows a transcriptional readout of inter- and intracellular protein-protein interactions, with near-zero background, by employing proximity-dependent luciferase-LOV regulation.

A light-dependent two-hybrid tool with transcriptional readout detects multiple protein-protein interactions in living mammalian cells with high signal-to-background ratios and enables genetic selections.

TRACC (Transcriptional Readout Activated by Cell-cell Contacts) is an engineered molecular tool that detects and records cell-cell contacts in mammalian systems.

eMags is an engineered photodimerizer pair for optogenetic modulation in mammalian cells that is especially suited for the manipulation of intracellular processes occurring in small volumes or subcellular organelles.

Light-sensitive allosteric switch module, a broadly applicable protein engineering method, is used for the regulation of protein activity with tight temporal control and spatial precision.

Spatially and temporally patterned activation of the small GTPase Rho1 indicates that ventral-specific factors contribute to cell- and tissue-level behaviors during ventral furrow formation, the first step in Drosophila gastrulation.

An under-studied microtubule-associated protein is found to regulate axon growth and branching by modulating microtubule-based organelle transport through its dual interactions with microtubules and the conventional kinesin motor.

New germline gene expression, knockout, and optogenetic tools reveal essential roles for Gα-GPR-1,2/Pins as a regulatable membrane anchor and LIN-5/NuMA as an activator of cortical dynein in mitotic spindle positioning.