Optimizing photoswitchable MEK

Significance Controlling access to the active sites of kinases using photo-dimerizable domains revolutionizes the types of possible optogenetic perturbations of cell signaling. This technology, however, is useful only when there is strong kinase activity to harness. We report a strategy to systematically enhance and tune functionality of a kinase activating the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (ERK) pathway, MEK, using gain-of-function...