Reversible protein inactivation by optogenetic trapping in cells

We present a versatile platform to inactivate proteins in living cells using light, light-activated reversible inhibition by assembled trap (LARIAT), which sequesters target proteins into complexes formed by multimeric proteins and a blue light-mediated heterodimerization module. Using LARIAT, we inhibited diverse proteins that modulate cytoskeleton, lipid signaling and cell cycle with high spatiotemporal resolution. Use of single-domain antibodies extends the method to target proteins containing specific epitopes, including GFP.