Abstract

Synthetic genetic circuits have become increasingly complex and easier to design and build. But what are they good for? We present a prototype application for a synthetic genetic circuit that assesses and responds to conditions that lead to acetate production in Escherichia coli, a wasteful process in industrial fermentation. The circuit uses sensors for acetate, oxygen, and glycolytic flux (factors relevant to acetate production) to gather information about the cellular environment, integrates these signals using orthogonal sets of transcription factors, and then expresses response molecules that reduce acetate production. Such a system offers the advantage of programmable feedback control of metabolism at single-cell resolution and serves to demonstrate the value proposition of synthetic genetic circuits for metabolic engineering and process control.

Moser, F., Broers, N., Hartmans, S., Tamsir, A., Kerkman, R., Roubos, J.A., Bovenberg, R., & C.A. Voigt (2012). Genetic Circuit Performance under Conditions Relevant for Industrial Bioreactors. ACS Synth. Biol., 1(11): 555-564.

Moser, F., Horwitz, A., Chen, J., Lim, W.A., & C.A. Voigt (2013). A genetic sensor for strong methylating compounds. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2(10): 614-614.