Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

4.0K
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
4.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An optically driven microstructure for torque measurement in rotary molecular motors.

Microsystems & nanoengineering·2026
Same author

Active billiards: Engineering boundaries for the spatial control of confined active particles.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Roadmap for animate matter.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2025
Same author

The 2025 motile active matter roadmap.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2025
Same author

Dynamic Gene Expression Mitigates Mutational Escape in Lysis-Driven Bacteria Cancer Therapy.

Biodesign research·2024
Same author

Multiple temperatures and melting of a colloidal active crystal.

Nature communications·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2025

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

7.6K

Light-driven synchronization of optogenetic clocks.

Maria Cristina Cannarsa1,2, Filippo Liguori1,3, Nicola Pellicciotta1,4

  • 1Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy.

Elife
|October 15, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Engineered cells with synthetic genetic oscillators can now be synchronized using light. This optorepressilator system overcomes cell variability to achieve population-level clock control.

Keywords:
E. colicomputational biologynonlinear dynamicsoptogeneticsphysics of living systemssynthetic biologysystems biology

More Related Videos

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice
07:33

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Published on: June 29, 2018

11.7K
Author Spotlight: In Vitro Investigations of Circadian Rhythms in Multicellular Systems
05:44

Author Spotlight: In Vitro Investigations of Circadian Rhythms in Multicellular Systems

Published on: February 16, 2024

1.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2025

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

7.6K
Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice
07:33

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Published on: June 29, 2018

11.7K
Author Spotlight: In Vitro Investigations of Circadian Rhythms in Multicellular Systems
05:44

Author Spotlight: In Vitro Investigations of Circadian Rhythms in Multicellular Systems

Published on: February 16, 2024

1.0K

Area of Science:

  • Synthetic Biology
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Synthetic genetic oscillators are crucial for programming periodic gene expression in engineered cells.
  • Cell-to-cell variability in these oscillators leads to population desynchronization, limiting their applications.
  • Controlling the phase and synchrony of synthetic clocks at the population level remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an optically controllable synthetic genetic clock.
  • To investigate methods for synchronizing and entraining populations of synthetic oscillators.
  • To understand the robustness of optical control mechanisms from single-cell to population dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Construction of the optorepressilator, a synthetic repressilator network in E. coli, integrated with an optogenetic module.
  • Application of optical inputs (green light pulses) to reset, delay, or advance the phase of the genetic clock.
  • Experimental observation of population behavior and synchronization dynamics.
  • Mathematical modeling to quantitatively analyze the entrainment mechanism and robustness.

Main Results:

  • Demonstration of population synchronization via transient green light exposure.
  • Entrainment of the optorepressilator population to oscillate indefinitely using pulsed light stimuli.
  • Observation of multiple regimes of global synchronization in response to detuned external stimuli.
  • Quantitative understanding of the entrainment mechanism across single-cell and population levels.

Conclusions:

  • The optorepressilator provides a robust, optically controllable synthetic clock.
  • Optical inputs can effectively synchronize and entrain populations of synthetic genetic oscillators.
  • The developed system offers a powerful tool for programming cellular behavior and understanding biological clock mechanisms.