Abstract
Voltage-gated Ca(2+) (Ca(V) ) channels mediate Ca(2+) entry into excitable cells to regulate a myriad of cellular events following membrane depolarization. We report the engineering of RGK GTPases, a class of genetically encoded Ca(V) channel modulators, to enable photo-tunable modulation of Ca(V) channel activity in excitable mammalian cells. This optogenetic tool (designated optoRGK) tailored for Ca(V) channels could find broad applications in interrogating a wide range of Ca(V) -mediated physiological processes.