A sensing array of radically coupled genetic ‘biopixels’

Arthur Prindle, Phillip Samayoa, Ivan Razinkov, Tal Danino, Lev S. Tsimring and Jeff Hasty ()
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Arthur Prindle: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Phillip Samayoa: Bioinformatics Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Ivan Razinkov: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Tal Danino: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Lev S. Tsimring: BioCircuits Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Jeff Hasty: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA

Nature, 2012, vol. 481, issue 7379, 39-44

Abstract: Abstract Although there has been considerable progress in the development of engineering principles for synthetic biology, a substantial challenge is the construction of robust circuits in a noisy cellular environment. Such an environment leads to considerable intercellular variability in circuit behaviour, which can hinder functionality at the colony level. Here we engineer the synchronization of thousands of oscillating colony ‘biopixels’ over centimetre-length scales through the use of synergistic intercellular coupling involving quorum sensing within a colony and gas-phase redox signalling between colonies. We use this platform to construct a liquid crystal display (LCD)-like macroscopic clock that can be used to sense arsenic via modulation of the oscillatory period. Given the repertoire of sensing capabilities of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, the ability to coordinate their behaviour over large length scales sets the stage for the construction of low cost genetic biosensors that are capable of detecting heavy metals and pathogens in the field.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10722

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