Post-translational tools expand the scope of synthetic biology

Synthetic biology is improving our understanding of and ability to control living organisms. To date, most progress has been made by engineering gene expression. However, computational and genetically encoded tools that allow protein activity and protein-protein interactions to be controlled on their natural time and length scales are emerging. These technologies provide a basis for the construction of post-translational circuits, which are capable of fast, robust and highly spatially resolved signal processing. When combined with their transcriptional and translational counterparts, synthetic post-translational circuits will allow better analysis and control of otherwise intractable biological processes such as cellular differentiation and the growth of tissues.