Computational implementation of a tunable multicellular memory circuit for engineered eukaryotic consortia

Frontiers in Physiology

Ricard eSole¹  Javier eMacia²  Josep eSardanyés²  Nuria eConde²  Adriano eBonforti² 

[1] The Santa Fe Institute;Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona);

关键词: Computational Biology;    Synthetic Biology;    flip-flop;    Multicellular circuits;    Eukaryotic memory circuits;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphys.2015.00281

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Cells are complex machines capable of processing information by means of an entangled network ofmolecular interactions. A crucial component of these decision-making systems is the presence of memoryand this is also a specially relevant target of engineered synthetic systems. A classic example of memorydevices is a 1-bit memory element known as the flip-flop. Such system can be in principle designed usinga single-cell implementation, but a direct mapping between standard circuit design and a living circuitcan be cumbersome. Here we present a novel computational implementation of a 1-bit memory deviceusing a reliable multicellular design able to behave as a set-reset flip-flop that could be implemented inyeast cells. The dynamics of the proposed synthetic circuit is investigated with a mathematical modelusing biologically-meaningful parameters. The circuit is shown to behave as a flip-flop in a wide range ofparameter values. The repression strength for the NOT logics is shown to be crucial to obtain a goodflip-flop signal. Our model also shows that the circuit can be externally tuned to achieve different memorystates and dynamics, such as persistent and transient memory. We have characterised the parameterdomains for robust memory storage and retrieval as well as the corresponding time response dynamics.

【 授权许可】

Unknown