Partitioning of a 2-bit hash function across 66 communicating cells

Area of Science:

• Synthetic Biology
• Computational Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Distributed computing offers powerful computational capabilities.
• Cell-to-cell communication can enable complex computations.
• Previous methods lacked tools for large-scale genetic circuit distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop software and genetic tools for partitioning large genetic circuits across multiple cells.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of distributed biological computing using a cryptographic algorithm.
• To enable programmable control of multicellular biological processes.

Main Methods:

• Design software for genetic circuit partitioning.
• Development of genetic parts for implementing subcircuits.
• Implementation of a 2-bit MD5 hashing algorithm across 66 Escherichia coli strains.
• Experimental verification of signal integration, processing, and propagation.

Main Results:

• Successfully partitioned a 110-logic-gate genetic circuit across 66 bacterial strains.
• Introduced 1.1 Mb of recombinant DNA into bacterial genomes.
• Verified correct function and signal propagation between engineered strains.
• Demonstrated a functional 2-bit MD5 hash computation.

Conclusions:

• The developed tools enable the creation of distributed genetic circuits.
• This approach facilitates complex computations within multicellular systems.
• Programmable control of multicellular biological processes is achievable.