Table 5.
General expression considerations for specific transgenes and applications.
| Transgene | Application | Optimal expression level |
|---|---|---|
| Opsins | Optogenetics | High |
| DREADDs | Chemogenetics | Low for optimal specificity |
| Ca2+ sensors | Activity monitoring | Moderate |
| Voltage sensors | Activity monitoring | Moderate-high |
| dLight1 | Dopamine indicator | Not yet known |
| Fluorescent reporters (XFPs) | Expression reporters, protein tagging | Moderate |
| Luciferase/AkaLuc | Expression reporter | Low-High |
| Cre/FlpO/Dre/KD/B3Recombinases | Intersectional expression/Circuit studies | Low |
| CRISPR-Cas9 | Gene editing | Moderate-High |
| TVA and rabies G | Circuit studies/retrograde tracing/TRIO/cTRIO | TVA (low) Rabies G (Moderate) |