Gene networks that compensate for crosstalk with crosstalk.

Crosstalk is a major challenge to engineering sophisticated synthetic gene networks. A common approach is to insulate signal-transduction pathways by minimizing molecular-level crosstalk between endogenous and synthetic genetic components, but this strategy can be difficult to apply in the context of complex, natural gene networks and unknown interactions. Here, we show that synthetic gene networks can be engineered to compensate for crosstalk by integrating pathway signals, rather than by pathway insulation. We demonstrate this principle using reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive gene circuits in Escherichia coli that exhibit concentration-dependent crosstalk with non-cognate ROS. We quantitatively map the degree of crosstalk and design gene circuits that introduce compensatory crosstalk at the gene network level. The resulting gene network exhibits reduced crosstalk in the sensing of the two different ROS. Our results suggest that simple network motifs that compensate for pathway crosstalk can be used by biological networks to accurately interpret environmental signals.

Synthetic mixed-signal computation in living cells.

Living cells implement complex computations on the continuous environmental signals that they encounter. These computations involve both analogue- and digital-like processing of signals to give rise to complex developmental programs, context-dependent behaviours and homeostatic activities. In contrast to natural biological systems, synthetic biological systems have largely focused on either digital or analogue computation separately. Here we integrate analogue and digital computation to implement complex hybrid synthetic genetic programs in living cells. We present a framework for building comparator gene circuits to digitize analogue inputs based on different thresholds. We then demonstrate that comparators can be predictably composed together to build band-pass filters, ternary logic systems and multi-level analogue-to-digital converters. In addition, we interface these analogue-to-digital circuits with other digital gene circuits to enable concentration-dependent logic. We expect that this hybrid computational paradigm will enable new industrial, diagnostic and therapeutic applications with engineered cells.

Synthetic analog computation in living cells.

A central goal of synthetic biology is to achieve multi-signal integration and processing in living cells for diagnostic, therapeutic and biotechnology applications. Digital logic has been used to build small-scale circuits, but other frameworks may be needed for efficient computation in the resource-limited environments of cells. Here we demonstrate that synthetic analog gene circuits can be engineered to execute sophisticated computational functions in living cells using just three transcription factors. Such synthetic analog gene circuits exploit feedback to implement logarithmically linear sensing, addition, ratiometric and power-law computations. The circuits exhibit Weber's law behaviour as in natural biological systems, operate over a wide dynamic range of up to four orders of magnitude and can be designed to have tunable transfer functions. Our circuits can be composed to implement higher-order functions that are well described by both intricate biochemical models and simple mathematical functions. By exploiting analog building-block functions that are already naturally present in cells, this approach efficiently implements arithmetic operations and complex functions in the logarithmic domain. Such circuits may lead to new applications for synthetic biology and biotechnology that require complex computations with limited parts, need wide-dynamic-range biosensing or would benefit from the fine control of gene expression.

Alternative isoleucine synthesis pathway in cyanobacterial species.

Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 is an aerobic N(2)-fixing and hydrogen-producing cyanobacterium. Isotopomer analysis of its amino acids revealed an identical labelling profile for leucine and isoleucine when Cyanothece 51142 was grown mixotrophically using 2-(13)C-labelled glycerol as the main carbon source. This indicated that Cyanothece 51142 employs the atypical alternative citramalate pathway for isoleucine synthesis, with pyruvate and acetyl-CoA as precursors. Utilization of the citramalate pathway was confirmed by an enzyme assay and LC-MS/MS analysis. Furthermore, the genome sequence of Cyanothece 51142 shows that the gene encoding the key enzyme (threonine ammonia-lyase) in the normal isoleucine pathway is missing. Instead, the cce_0248 gene in Cyanothece 51142 exhibits 53 % identity to the gene encoding citramalate synthase (CimA, GSU1798) from Geobacter sulfurreducens. Reverse-transcription PCR indicated that the cce_0248 gene is expressed and its transcriptional level is lower in medium with isoleucine than in isoleucine-free medium. Additionally, a blast search for citramalate synthase and threonine ammonia-lyase implies that this alternative isoleucine synthesis pathway may be present in other cyanobacteria, such as Cyanothece and Synechococcus. This suggests that the pathway is more widespread than originally thought, as previous identifications of the citramalate pathway are limited to mostly anaerobic bacteria or archaea. Furthermore, this discovery opens the possibility that such autrotrophic micro-organisms may be engineered for robust butanol and propanol production from 2-ketobutyrate, which is an intermediate in the isoleucine biosynthesis pathway.