Researchers Synchronize Blinking 'Genetic Clocks' -- Genetically Engineered Bacteria That Keep Track of Time
ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2010) — Researchers at UC San Diego who last year genetically engineered bacteria to keep track of time by turning on and off fluorescent proteins within their cells have taken another step toward the construction of a programmable genetic sensor. The scientists recently synchronized these bacterial "genetic clocks" to blink in unison and engineered the bacterial genes to alter their blinking rates when environmental conditions change.
Their latest achievement, detailed in a paper published in the January 21 issue of the journal
Nature, is a crucial step in creating genetic sensors that might one day provide humans with advance information about temperature, poisons and other potential hazards in the environment by monitoring changes in the bacterium's blinking rates.
A supernova burst in a colony of coupled genetic clocks show them flashing in synchrony.
(Credit: UCSD)
Tal Danino (foreground), Octavio Mondragon (left to right), Lev Tsimring and Jeff Hasty synchronized the genetic clocks in bacteria.
(Credit: UCSD)
Bacteria make Mexican waves
By synchronising our clocks, we can coordinate our activities with people around the world. Now, scientists have engineered bacteria to synchronise their molecular timekeepers, creating the stunning fluorescent waves you see in this video. Hear more about synthetic biology on the Nature Podcast (
http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast) or read the original research
Nature 463, 326-330 (21 January 2010) |
doi:10.1038/nature08753; Received 20 August 2009; Accepted 4 December 2009
A synchronized quorum of genetic clocks
Tal Danino, Octavio Mondragón-Palomino, Lev Tsimring & Jeff Hasty
Hasty has been working on building a robust genetic clock from scratch since his years as a postdoctoral researcher in the early 2000s.
“We finally determined that a crucial aspect is a small time delay in the negative feedback loop of the genetic network,” explained Hasty. “This is an example in which synthetic biology can lead to a better understanding of the importance of specific aspects of gene regulatory networks. Because you can’t model every aspect of a genetic network, you have to figure out what needs to be accounted for in your models and what doesn’t.”
Network diagram of the dual-feedback oscillator. Adding a two minute time delay led to the synthetic biology breakthrough.
- Researchers synchronize blinking 'genetic clocks' -- genetically engineered bacteria that keep track of time
- UC San Diego Researchers Synchronize Blinking “Genetic Clocks”
- A synchronized quorum of genetic clocks : Abstract : Nature
- YouTube - Bacteria make Mexican waves
- Genetic Clock Makers at UC San Diego Publish Their Timepiece in Nature [Jacobs School of Engineering: News & Events]
Related:
- UC San Diego Home Page
- Biodynamics Lab
- Hasty Lab
- Video: Bacteria Transformed Into Living, Blinking Clocks Could Provide Precisely Timed Drug Delivery | Popular Science
- Researchers synchronize blinking 'genetic clocks' (w/ Video)
- BBC News - Synthetic biology cells produce light show
- Technology Review: A Synchronous Clock Made of Bacteria
- Researchers Synchronize Blinking 'Genetic Clocks' - Science News - redOrbit
- Bacterial clocks chime in unison : Nature News
- Is There Nothing E. coli Cannot Do? The Borg Edition | The Loom | Discover Magazine
