Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiSchool of Biotechnology

skateriyalab@gmail.com
KATERIYA LABLight. Cells. Discovery.

Kateriya LabResearch

Light-sensing proteins, from discovery to optogenetics.

Much of our work starts in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and other microbes, which carry a rich set of photoreceptors. We find these proteins, study how they work, and use them as tools in other cells.

Fungal modular rhodopsin structure
Fungal modular rhodopsin structureFig. 01

01 / Photoreceptor biology

Characterisation of novel light-sensing proteins

Biology of rhodopsins, BLUF, LOV and phototropin proteins from microbes.

  1. Modular rhodopsins and enzyme-rhodopsins from green algae and fungi
  2. Photodynamics of modular BLUF, LOV and rhodopsin proteins
  3. Phototropin and chlamyopsin signalling in algae
Modular BLUF protein models
Modular BLUF protein modelsFig. 02

02 / Optogenetic tools

Engineering light-controlled switches

Photoactivated modular proteins that change signalling inside a cell when light is switched on.

  1. Photoactivated adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases (cAMP and cGMP) and photoactivated kinases
  2. A light-gated BLUF endonuclease
  3. LOV- and BLUF-based control of riboswitching, translation and proteolysis
IFT transport of rhodopsins into cilia
IFT transport of rhodopsins into ciliaFig. 03

03 / Cilia biology

Cilia, intraflagellar transport and ciliopathies

How photoreceptors and other proteins are carried into cilia by intraflagellar transport (IFT), and what goes wrong in human ciliopathies.

  1. IFT-mediated trafficking of channelrhodopsin and other rhodopsins into cilia
  2. Ultrastructure of Chlamydomonas IFT mutants
  3. Optogenetic tools for ciliary signalling
Light-guided production in algae
Light-guided production in algaeFig. 04

04 / Opto-biotechnology

Light-guided production of bioactives from algae

Controlled illumination to raise the yield of valuable molecules from microalgae.

  1. Anti-inflammatory small molecules and microproteins from green algae
  2. Opto-biomanufacturing of astaxanthin and biomaterials
  3. Illumination devices for metabolic efficiency

05 / Toolbox

Photoreceptors and optogenetic tools we have characterised.

A selection of light-sensitive proteins described in our papers. Researchers interested in using any of them can write to Prof. Kateriya.

ToolFamilySource organismLight controlsKey paper (first author)
nPAC, NgPAC2, NgPAC3 BLUF cyclase Naegleria gruberi (amoeboflagellate) cAMP production Penzkofer A et al., Chem Phys 2011, 2013; J Photochem Photobiol A 2014
TpPAC BLUF cyclase Turneriella parva (spirochete) cAMP production Penzkofer A et al., J Photochem Photobiol B 2015
LiPAC BLUF cyclase Leptonema illini (spirochete) cAMP production Penzkofer A et al., Trends Appl Spectrosc 2014
Engineered soluble photoactivated guanylyl cyclases Light-activated cyclase Microbial cGMP production Tanwar M et al., Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2018
RmPAE BLUF endonuclease Rubellimicrobium mesophilum DNA cleavage Penzkofer A et al., BAOJ Chemistry 2016
Light-gated BLUF endonuclease BLUF endonuclease BLUF domain (see paper) DNA cleavage Rahamtullah et al., FEBS J 2026
Modular BLUF proteins BLUF domain Diverse microbes Diverse optogenetic outputs Kaushik MS et al., Appl Sci 2019
Algal modular LOV proteins LOV domain Green algae Riboswitching, translation, proteolysis Manisha et al., Algal Research 2025
Phototropin LOV domain LOV domain Klebsormidium nitens (terrestrial alga) Blue-light phototropin photocycle Sharma S et al., FEBS J 2024
Modular rhodopsins Rhodopsin Green algae; fungi Cellular optogenetic modulation Awasthi M et al., Life 2020; Kumari A et al., In Silico Res Biomed 2026
Klebsormidium channelrhodopsin Channelrhodopsin Klebsormidium nitens Ion flow (photocurrents) Tashiro R et al., Commun Biol 2021

Requests for constructs: skateriyalab@gmail.com

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skateriyalab@gmail.com

Prof. Suneel Kateriya

School of Biotechnology
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi 110067, India