| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/P017134/1 |
| Title: |
CONDSYC- CONtextual Design of SYnthetic Circuits |
| Principal Investigator: |
Bandiera, Dr L |
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| Department: |
Sch of Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Edinburgh |
| Scheme: |
EPSRC Fellowship |
| Starts: |
01 July 2017 |
Ends: |
30 June 2020 |
Value (£): |
280,667
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Cells run on programs made of DNA. Although we can read and write in this biological code, the set of rules through which it is executed changes over time, according to the signals the cell receives from the surrounding environment. This strategy ensures cell health, but complicates our efforts to have microbes perform additional functions, for example to produce a drug of interest. To implement a new function in a cell, we need to modify or add new DNA code to the existing master program.
But how should we write it? Can we predict in advance how the cell will execute it under different environmental conditions? Can we identify conditions in which the added code will not impair cellular functions while providing the desired output?
To address these questions I will insert in yeast cells pieces of 'DNA code' written to perform functions of increasing complexity: single units (biological parts) and interconnected units (synthetic circuits). The function they implement will be controlled using chemicals provided to the cells and observed by measuring a fluorescent signal that reports on the executed task. I will then use fluorescence images of the cells, acquired through time-lapse microscopy, to follow over-time the performance of the synthetic circuits under various environmental conditions. These environmental conditions will be selected so as to uncover the execution mechanisms, while minimizing the number of experiments necessary to gain this understanding. Linking the selected environmental conditions to the measured tasks, I will write mathematical formulas, which will allow the output of the code to be predicted under untested experimental conditions.
The set of identified execution rules will enhance our ability to write 'DNA code' that is executed by the cells in the way we desire. We will thus be able to guide the design of code yielding more complex functions with potential applications from medicine to biotechnology.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ed.ac.uk |