Bioengineers learn the secrets to precisely turning on and off genes

Artificial microorganisms are increasingly being used to enable sustainable and clean production of chemicals and medicines. To make this possible, bioengineers need to control the on and off of specific gene sets so that they can carefully control the biochemical processes involved.

Veronica Greco, the lead author and PhD from the Royal Society. A student at the Bristol Department of Life Sciences said: “Turning genes on and off sounds easy, but getting living cells to do it with commands is a real challenge. Not all cells are slightly different and the processes involved are not 100% reliable. .. “

To solve this problem, the team was inspired by nature, where key events are often controlled simultaneously by multiple processes.

Veronica Greco added: “Looking at the Venus flytrap, we can see that the trap closes only when multiple hairs are triggered together. This reduces the chance of accidentally closing the trap. Intracellular genes. Multiple levels. Add a regulation to ensure that it happens exactly when you need it. “

Professor Claire Grierson, co-author of Bristol and Dean of the Department of Biological Sciences, said: “The great thing about this project is that we were able to take advantage of transcription, which is the two core processes that exist in every cell and support every life.”

The team has shown that by using this type of multi-level regulation, we can create some of the most powerful switches for gene expression ever constructed.

In addition, the team was able to take it one step further in collaboration with Dr. Amir Pandi and Professor Tobias Elb of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Bristol. They have demonstrated that these multi-level systems provide some of the most stringent controls on gene expression ever seen, even when used outside living cells.

Dr. Thomas Gorokowski, senior author of Bristol and researcher at the Royal Society University, said: “When designing microbes, we often try to simplify the system as much as possible, thinking that we can better control what is happening, but what we have shown is biology. Accepting some of the inherent complexity may be the key to unlocking the full potential of tomorrow’s precision biotechnology. ”