Synthetic Counter (iGem2005 ETH Zurich)
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| - | '''Abstract.''' We report here the design and implementation ''in vivo'' of a gene circuit that can count up to 4. In essence, it uses two toggle switches, each storing 1 bit, to keep track of the 4 states. The design of the counter is highly modular, | + | '''Abstract.''' We report here the design and implementation ''in vivo'' of a gene circuit that can count up to 4. In essence, it uses two toggle switches, each storing 1 bit, to keep track of the 4 states. The design of the counter is highly modular, with the hope that it can be included as a unit in larger circuits, and also combined with further counter instances to keep track of a much larger number of states, up to (2^(n+1)) with n units. To facilitate further developments and integration to other projects, the counter is available in form of BioBricks. The availability of a counter enables the execution of sequential instructions, and paves the way for the execution of artifical programs inside living cells. |
=Introduction= | =Introduction= | ||
| - | The past few years have seen the emergence of the field of synthetic biology, in which functional units are designed and built into cells to generate a particular behaviour, and ultimately to better understand Life's mechanisms. Previous efforts include the creation of gene circuits that generate oscillating behaviour ([[Elowitz00]]), toggle switch functionality ([[Atkinson03]]), artificial cell-cell communication ([[Bulter04]]) or pattern-forming behaviour ([[Basu2005]]). The present document | + | The past few years have seen the emergence of the field of synthetic biology, in which functional units are designed and built into cells to generate a particular behaviour, and ultimately to better understand Life's mechanisms. Previous efforts include the creation of gene circuits that generate oscillating behaviour ([[Elowitz00]]), toggle switch functionality ([[Atkinson03]]), artificial cell-cell communication ([[Bulter04]]) or pattern-forming behaviour ([[Basu2005]]). The present document describes the design and realization of a gene circuit that counts to 4. |
=Design of the Counter= | =Design of the Counter= | ||
=Methods= | =Methods= | ||
=Results and Discussion= | =Results and Discussion= | ||
Revision as of 14:32, 14 October 2005
Abstract. We report here the design and implementation in vivo of a gene circuit that can count up to 4. In essence, it uses two toggle switches, each storing 1 bit, to keep track of the 4 states. The design of the counter is highly modular, with the hope that it can be included as a unit in larger circuits, and also combined with further counter instances to keep track of a much larger number of states, up to (2^(n+1)) with n units. To facilitate further developments and integration to other projects, the counter is available in form of BioBricks. The availability of a counter enables the execution of sequential instructions, and paves the way for the execution of artifical programs inside living cells.
Contents |
Introduction
The past few years have seen the emergence of the field of synthetic biology, in which functional units are designed and built into cells to generate a particular behaviour, and ultimately to better understand Life's mechanisms. Previous efforts include the creation of gene circuits that generate oscillating behaviour (Elowitz00), toggle switch functionality (Atkinson03), artificial cell-cell communication (Bulter04) or pattern-forming behaviour (Basu2005). The present document describes the design and realization of a gene circuit that counts to 4.
