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Robust multicellular computing using genetically encoded NOR gates and chemical 'wires'.

Alvin Tamsir1, Jeffrey J Tabor, Christopher A Voigt

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158, USA.

Nature
|December 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists engineered bacteria to perform complex computations using genetic circuits and cell-cell communication. This synthetic biology approach enables robust logic gates, paving the way for novel biological computing applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Synthetic Biology
  • Computational Biology
  • Microbial Engineering

Background:

  • Cellular organization and development rely on computation and cell-cell communication.
  • Bacteria in biofilms exhibit emergent patterns from simple individual operations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To engineer a genetic circuit in E. coli capable of complex spatial computations.
  • To utilize quorum sensing as a communication mechanism for biological logic gates.

Main Methods:

  • Constructed a NOR logic gate using tandem promoters and a repressor system in Escherichia coli.
  • Integrated orthogonal quorum-sensing sender and receiver devices to wire logic gates.
  • Arranged bacterial colonies spatially to create diverse computational functions.

Main Results:

  • Successfully produced all possible two-input logic gates, including XOR and EQUALS functions.
  • Demonstrated robust and strong responses with 5- to >300-fold changes between states.
  • Quorum sensing molecules effectively served as communication wires between engineered gates.

Conclusions:

  • Simple genetic logic gates can be combined to perform complex computations in space.
  • Rewiring cell-cell communication is a viable strategy for designing diverse biological calculations.
  • This work provides design principles for harnessing cellular computation in synthetic biology.