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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Rapid Synthesis and Screening of Chemically Activated Transcription Factors with GFP-based Reporters

Rapid Synthesis and Screening of Chemically Activated Transcription Factors with GFP-based Reporters

Published on: November 26, 2013

BioFuse: A programmable timer switch of gene expression.

Cheng Huang¹, Jie Zhao¹, Zichun Tan¹

¹Institute of Biophysics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Science Advances

|August 27, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed BioFuse, a programmable gene expression timer switch with reaction times from hours to days. This synthetic biology tool precisely controls gene activity for applications in metabolic engineering and biomedicine.

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Area of Science:

Synthetic biology
Genetic engineering
Molecular biology

Background:

Existing gene expression timing systems have limited temporal tunability due to complex regulator interactions.
Precise control over gene expression timing is crucial for various biotechnological applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel, programmable gene expression timer switch with a wide range of temporal tunability.
To demonstrate the utility of this timer in controlling metabolic pathways and biological processes.

Main Methods:

Designed BioFuse, a synthetic gene circuit utilizing sequential DNA cassette editing by adenine base editors (ABEs).
Programmed reaction times by adjusting the number of DNA cassettes.
Applied BioFuse to control carotenoid biosynthesis genes in E. coli and a bacterial autolysis system.

Main Results:

BioFuse enables programmable gene expression timing ranging from hours to days.
Controlled lycopene production in E. coli, decoupling it from growth and increasing yield.
Facilitated timely and efficient protein release in a bacterial autolysis system.

Conclusions:

BioFuse provides a versatile tool for precise, wide-range temporal control of gene expression and metabolic activities in bacteria.
This technology has potential applications in industrial biotechnology and biomedicine.