Optogenetics Used for First Time for Industrial Chemical Production

Princeton University scientists have used an optogenetics technique to control the metabolism of genetically modified yeast and increase the output of commercially valuable chemicals. The results offer scientists a powerful new tool to probe and understand the inner working of cells, according to José L. Avalos, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. "It opens the door to controlling metabo