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Synchronization of gene expression across eukaryotic communities through chemical rhythms
Sara Pérez-García1, Mario García-Navarrete1, Diego Ruiz-Sanchis1
1Centro de Biotecnologıa y Genomica de Plantas (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid-Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologıa Agraria y Alimentaria), Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain.
Nature Communications
|June 30, 2021
Summary
Researchers created a synthetic system to synchronize gene expression in yeast communities using chemical signals. This method enables coordinated cellular behavior without direct cell-to-cell communication, offering a new framework for biological coordination.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Systems biology
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Synchronization is a fundamental phenomenon observed across diverse scientific disciplines, including neuroscience, ecology, and biology.
- Controlling synchronized behavior in complex eukaryotic communities over large spatial and temporal scales presents a significant scientific challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a minimal synthetic system capable of directly converting external chemical signals into synchronized gene expression within eukaryotic communities.
- To investigate the role of rate-dependent hysteresis in achieving and controlling synchronization in cell collectives.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a minimal synthetic system utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) colonies.
- Employing external chemical rhythms to guide gene expression and induce synchronization.
- Modulating the speed of chemical rhythms and incorporating feedback mechanisms to tune synchronization precision.
- Testing the robustness of the synchronization mechanism in two-strain consortia under stress conditions (toxin exposure).
Main Results:
- Isolated yeast colonies exhibited near-perfect synchronization of gene expression, guided solely by external chemical rhythms, without intercellular coupling or intrinsic oscillations.
- Synchronization and precision of cellular responses were tunable by altering the speed of chemical rhythms and system architecture (feedback).
- The synchronization mechanism proved robust under stress, with toxin-sensitive cells maintaining spatial-temporal synchrony under rhythmic toxin exposure from killer cells.
Conclusions:
- A simple molecular framework was established for achieving global coordination of eukaryotic gene expression through dynamic environmental cues.
- This approach offers a novel strategy for controlling collective cellular behavior in synthetic and natural biological systems.
- The findings demonstrate the potential of external chemical signaling for precise temporal control of gene expression in microbial communities.
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