Keiichi Inoue

Structural basis of ultraviolet sensitivity and gating in an anion-conducting apusomonad rhodopsin

This study determines the cryo-EM structure of SfApuR2, an ultraviolet-sensitive anion-conducting rhodopsin, and identifies structural features that explain its UV sensitivity and gating mechanism.

AI-enabled rhodopsin design for blue-light enhanced bacterial growth

This study uses AI to design novel microbial rhodopsins that absorb blue light and enhance bacterial growth.

The bacterial schizorhodopsins: novel light-driven inward proton pumps from Antarctic Minisyncoccota (Patescibacteria) and cyanobacteria, with implications for the proton-pumping mechanism

The paper identifies and characterizes two novel bacterial schizorhodopsins from Antarctic sources, demonstrating their inward proton-pumping activity and revealing distinct evolutionary and functional features.

Light-harvesting by antenna-containing xanthorhodopsin from an Antarctic cyanobacterium

The paper identifies widespread xanthorhodopsin genes in cyanobacteria and characterizes a unique variant from an Antarctic cyanobacterium that binds hydroxylated lutein, enhancing light-harvesting efficiency in extreme environments.

Cryo-EM Structures of Methanogenic Schizorhodopsins Reveal Divergent Strategies for Proton Transport and Thermal Adaptation

The paper reports cryo-EM structures of two methanogenic Schizorhodopsins, revealing distinct proton transport mechanisms and structural adaptations for thermal stability.

Apusomonad rhodopsins, a new family of ultraviolet to blue light absorbing rhodopsin channels

The paper identifies a new family of rhodopsin channels in apusomonads that absorb ultraviolet to blue light and function as anion-selective channels involved in photoavoidance.

Structural basis for color tuning and passive ion conductance in red-shifted pump-fold channelrhodopsin ChR024

This study presents cryo-EM structures of ChR024, revealing its color-tuning mechanism and transition from a proton pump to a light-gated channel.

Functional characterization of red-shifted rhodopsin channels from giant viruses explored by a machine-learning model for long-wavelength optogenetics

The paper uses a machine-learning model to predict red-shifted channelrhodopsin variants, identifying ChR024 with a maximum absorption wavelength of ~578 nm for optogenetics.

Carotenoid pigments enhance rhodopsin-mediated phototrophy by light-harvesting and photocycle-accelerating

The paper shows carotenoids enhance rhodopsin light utilization by accelerating photocycles and light-harvesting in marine bacteria.

Light-harvesting by antenna-containing rhodopsins in pelagic Asgard archaea

The paper reports light energy transfer from hydroxylated carotenoids to heimdallarchaeial rhodopsins in marine archaea, showing light-harvesting capabilities in archaea similar to bacterial rhodopsins.

The roles of an extended N-terminal region and ETD motif in a pump-like cation channelrhodopsin discovered in a lake microbiome

This paper characterizes HulaCCR1, a novel BCCR from Lake Hula, showing the ETD motif and extended N/C-termini affect spectral tuning, gating, and membrane localization.

Toward Machine Learning-based Data-driven Functional Protein Studies: Understanding Colour Tuning Rules and Predicting the Absorption Wavelengths of Microbial Rhodopsins

The paper uses machine learning to predict and understand the absorption wavelengths of microbial rhodopsins by analyzing sequence and functional data.