Engineering filamentous myosins for optical control of contractility

Understanding the behaviors of contractile actomyosin systems requires precise spatiotemporal control of filamentous myosin activity. Here, we develop a tool for optical control of contractility by extending the MyLOV family of gearshifting motors to create engineered filamentous myosins that change velocity in response to blue light. We characterize these minifilaments using in vitro single-molecule tracking assays, contractility assays in reconstituted actin networks, and imaging of contractile phenotypes in Drosophila S2 cells. The minifilaments change speed and/or direction when illuminated, display speeds that fall within and beyond the relevant physiological range, and display high processivities. Additionally, minifilament-driven contraction rates increase in blue light both in vitro and in S2 cells. Finally, we develop an alternative design for minifilaments that only interact processively with actin in blue light. Engineered minifilaments can be used to dissect behaviors such as self-organization and mechanotransduction in contractile systems both in vitro and in cells and tissues.