Genetic programs for advanced cellular information processing and behaviour control

用于高级细胞信息处理和行为控制的遗传程序

• 批准号: 1943681
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-1943681
• 关键词: Genetic; programs; advanced; cellular; information

Bacterial cells live in an ever changing environment and therefore are equipped with specific genetically-encoded sensors and signalling networks to continuously perceive and process the various environmental signals. In this sense, cells can be viewed as replicating living computers but with biochemical inputs and outputs. This project aims to design and construct synthetic gene circuits to program live bacterial cells with designer functions, in particular for advanced sensing, computing, information processing and control of multiple cellular and environmental signals with application, for example, in microbial cell factories.You will be guided to construct various genetic programs including novel sensors, genetic logic gates, amplifiers, computing and memory circuits. The layering and integration of these circuit modules will lead to a programmable biological computer. The biological computer will then enable the programmed cells to have a range of intelligent capabilities for application in areas including biosensing, biomanufacturing and biotherapies. By example, the engineered tools can be applied to significantly enhance the production yields of some difficult-to-express, large or toxic therapeutic proteins in industrial scale bioreactors. You will be guided to develop new biological circuit design principles by exploiting design principles in other engineering systems such as modularity, orthogonality, systematic characterization and modelling to increase the predictability and scalability of gene circuit design and assembly.The project will provide the student a comprehensive training of advanced molecular cloning and genetic tools, innovative microbiology and synthetic biology techniques and computational modelling skills. The research thus gives the student an inter-disciplinary research experience and cutting edge technologies exposure to prepare well for his/her future research career. The student may also benefit from the opportunity to work collaboratively with some of our industrial partners in biotechnology

细菌细胞生活在不断变化的环境中，因此配备了特定的遗传编码传感器和信号网络，以连续感知和处理各种环境信号。从这个意义上讲，可以将细胞视为复制活机计算机，但具有生化输入和输出。该项目旨在设计和构建合成基因电路，以使用设计器功能编程活细胞细胞，尤其是用于高级感应，计算，信息处理和控制多个细胞和环境信号，并具有应用程序，例如在微生物细胞工厂中。这些电路模块的分层和集成将导致可编程的生物计算机。然后，生物计算机将使编程的细胞能够在包括生物传感，生物制造和生物疗法在内的领域具有一系列智能功能。例如，可以使用工程工具来显着提高工业规模生物反应器中一些难以表达的大型或有毒治疗蛋白的产量。您将通过在其他工程系统（例如模块化，正交性，系统表征和建模）中利用设计原理来开发新的生物电路设计原理，以提高基因电路设计和组装的可预测性和可伸缩性。该项目将为学生提供全面的分子克隆和遗传工具和基因工具，创新的微生物学和合成学技术和计算技术的培训。因此，这项研究为学生提供了跨学科的研究经验和尖端技术的曝光，以为他/她未来的研究生涯做好准备。该学生也可能受益于与我们的一些生物技术工业伙伴合作合作的机会