Channelrhodopsin-1: a light-gated proton channel in green algae
Nagel G, Ollig D, Fuhrmann M, Kateriya S, Musti AM, Bamberg E, Hegemann P
doi:10.1126/science.107206801 / Our history
From a cDNA data bank to a Nobel Prize.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics".
Prof. Kateriya did his doctoral work with Prof. Hegemann at the University of Regensburg. In 2001 he identified, in a Chlamydomonas cDNA data bank, the gene sequences that were later shown to encode channelrhodopsin-1 and channelrhodopsin-2. He is a co-author of both founding papers, and his collaboration with Prof. Hegemann has continued since then.
Prof. Hegemann and Prof. Kateriya have also introduced the concepts of modularity and network biology of photoreceptors. At JNU, the Kateriya Lab established that intraflagellar transport (IFT) carries rhodopsins into cilia beyond the animal kingdom.
Further reading: "Scientific background 2026: Optogenetics – Discovery of a neuronal switch", Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine.
02 / Timeline
- 2001
Rhodopsin-like gene sequences identified in a Chlamydomonas cDNA data bank (recorded by Hegemann and Nagel, EMBO Mol Med 2013). Review "Algal sensory photoreceptors", J Phycol.
- 2002
Channelrhodopsin-1, a light-gated proton channel. Science 296: 2395–2398.
- 2003
Channelrhodopsin-2, a directly light-gated cation-selective membrane channel. PNAS 100: 13940–13945.
- 2005
Ph.D., University of Regensburg, Germany.
- 2007
Fast manipulation of cellular cAMP level by light in vivo. Nature Methods 4: 39–42.
- 2016
The trafficking of bacterial-type rhodopsins into the Chlamydomonas eyespot and flagella is IFT mediated. Scientific Reports 6: 34646.
- 2026
Intraflagellar transport-20 guides the ciliary membrane trafficking of channelrhodopsin. Mol Biol Rep 53: 1662.