AAV with EF1a promoter driven hChR2(C128S)-TdTomato

This AAV expresses hChR2(C128S)-TdTomato driven by an ubiquitous EF1a promoter.

The 1.2 Kb EF1α promoter is a commonly used, constitutive promoter derived from human elongation factor-1 alpha (EF1α). It is often used in conditions where the other constitutive promoters, such as CMV, have diminished activity or have been silenced.

hChR2 is a humanized version of ChR2 for mammalian expression. Wild-type ChR2, as well as a few of its mutations, provides the fastest excitation of the channelrhodopsins offered, and is widely used in in optogenetics techniques in neuroscience. Mutations at C128 (C128A, C128S, C128T) can extend depolarization up to seconds or even minutes; they are sometimes referred to as step-function opsins or SFOs. hChR2(C128S) provides for a 1.7-minute open-state lifetime and shows moderate expression in the hippocampal neurons and Pichia pastoris. Like C128T, it is inactivated at strong light.