Synthetic biology: insights into biological computation

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 518-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romilde Manzoni ◽  
Arturo Urrios ◽  
Silvia Velazquez-Garcia ◽  
Eulàlia de Nadal ◽  
Francesc Posas
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Biological Computation

Synthetic biology attempts to rationally engineer biological systems in order to perform desired functions. Our increasing understanding of biological systems guides this rational design, while the huge background in electronics for building circuits defines the methodology.

scholarly journals Intrinsic limitations in mainstream methods of identifying network motifs in biology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Fodor ◽  
Michael Brand ◽  
Rebecca J Stones ◽  
Ashley M Buckle
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Biological Networks ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Network Motifs ◽  
Motif Identification ◽  
Spurious Results

Network motifs are connectivity structures that occur with significantly higher frequency than chance, and are thought to play important roles in complex biological networks, for example in gene regulation, interactomes, and metabolomes. Network motifs may also become pivotal in the rational design and engineering of complex biological systems underpinning the field of synthetic biology. Distinguishing true motifs from arbitrary substructures, however, remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that implicit assumptions present in mainstream methods for motif identification do not necessarily hold, with the ramification that motif studies using these mainstream methods are less able to effectively differentiate between spurious results and events of true statistical significance than is often presented. We show that these difficulties cannot be overcome without revising the methods of statistical analysis used to identify motifs. The implications of these findings are therefore far-reaching across diverse areas of biology.

Evolving protocells to prototissues: rational design of a missing link

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1159-1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiksha Mantri ◽  
K. Tanuj Sapra
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Hierarchical Assembly ◽  
Artificial Cell

Realization of a functional artificial cell, the so-called protocell, is a major challenge posed by synthetic biology. A subsequent goal is to use the protocellular units for the bottom-up assembly of prototissues. There is, however, a looming chasm in our knowledge between protocells and prototissues. In the present paper, we give a brief overview of the work on protocells to date, followed by a discussion on the rational design of key structural elements specific to linking two protocellular bilayers. We propose that designing synthetic parts capable of simultaneous insertion into two bilayers may be crucial in the hierarchical assembly of protocells into a functional prototissue.

scholarly journals Independent control of amplitude and period in a synthetic oscillator circuit with modified repressilator

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengyu Zhang ◽  
Yanhong Sun ◽  
Yihao Zhang ◽  
Wenting Shen ◽  
Shujing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Reporter Genes ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Independent Control ◽  
Oscillator Circuit ◽  
Biological Circuits

AbstractSynthetic Biology aims to create predictable biological circuits and fully operational biological systems. Although there are methods to create more stable oscillators, such as repressilators, independently controlling the oscillation of reporter genes in terms of their amplitude and period is only on theoretical level. Here, we introduce a new oscillator circuit that can be independently controlled by two inducers in Escherichia coli. Some control components, including σECF11 and NahR, were added to the circuit. By systematically tuning the concentration of the inducers, salicylate and IPTG, the amplitude and period can be modulated independently. Furthermore, we constructed a quantitative model to forecast the regulation results. Under the guidance of the model, the expected oscillation can be regulated by choosing the proper concentration combinations of inducers. In summary, our work achieved independent control of the oscillator circuit, which allows the oscillator to be modularized and used in more complex circuit designs.

Integrating the whole from the sum of the parts: vignettes in computational biology

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-243
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Skolnick
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Personalized Medicine ◽  
Computational Biology ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Biological Variables

As is typical of contemporary cutting-edge interdisciplinary fields, computational biology touches and impacts many disciplines ranging from fundamental studies in the areas of genomics, proteomics transcriptomics, lipidomics to practical applications such as personalized medicine, drug discovery, and synthetic biology. This editorial examines the multifaceted role computational biology plays. Using the tools of deep learning, it can make powerful predictions of many biological variables, which may not provide a deep understanding of what factors contribute to the phenomena. Alternatively, it can provide the how and the why of biological processes. Most importantly, it can help guide and interpret what experiments and biological systems to study.

scholarly journals Are the biomedical sciences ready for synthetic biology?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Maxwell S. DeNies ◽  
Allen P. Liu ◽  
Santiago Schnell
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Functional System ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Experimental Control ◽  
Discovery Science

AbstractThe ability to construct a functional system from its individual components is foundational to understanding how it works. Synthetic biology is a broad field that draws from principles of engineering and computer science to create new biological systems or parts with novel function. While this has drawn well-deserved acclaim within the biotechnology community, application of synthetic biology methodologies to study biological systems has potential to fundamentally change how biomedical research is conducted by providing researchers with improved experimental control. While the concepts behind synthetic biology are not new, we present evidence supporting why the current research environment is conducive for integration of synthetic biology approaches within biomedical research. In this perspective we explore the idea of synthetic biology as a discovery science research tool and provide examples of both top-down and bottom-up approaches that have already been used to answer important physiology questions at both the organismal and molecular level.

Bottom-Up Synthetic Biology: Engineering in a Tinkerer’s World

Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 333 (6047) ◽  
pp. 1252-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Schwille
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Literal Interpretation ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Systematic Construction ◽  
Science Discipline ◽  
Recent Developments

How synthetic can “synthetic biology” be? A literal interpretation of the name of this new life science discipline invokes expectations of the systematic construction of biological systems with cells being built module by module—from the bottom up. But can this possibly be achieved, taking into account the enormous complexity and redundancy of living systems, which distinguish them quite remarkably from design features that characterize human inventions? There are several recent developments in biology, in tight conjunction with quantitative disciplines, that may bring this literal perspective into the realm of the possible. However, such bottom-up engineering requires tools that were originally designed by nature’s greatest tinkerer: evolution.

scholarly journals Rational design of small molecule fluorescent probes for biological applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (30) ◽  
pp. 5747-5763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joomyung V. Jun ◽  
David M. Chenoweth ◽  
E. James Petersson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Fluorescent Probes ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Biological Applications

Guidelines based on photophysical tuning, reactivity, isomerization, and energy transfer for rational design of synthetic fluorescent probes for biological systems.

Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biological Systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua B. Black ◽  
Pablo Perez-Pinera ◽  
Charles A. Gersbach
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Biological Systems
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