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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Fast, Programmable Molecular Clock

The bacteria-based timepiece could be used as a biosensor for changing environmental conditions.
By Emily Singer
UC San Diego bioengineers have created the first stable, fast, and programmable genetic clock that reliably keeps time by the blinking of fluorescent proteins inside E. coli cells. The clock's blink rate changes when the temperature, energy source, or other environmental conditions change. Shown here is a microfluidic system capable of controlling the environmental conditions of the E. coli cells with great precision--one of the keys to this advance.
Credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

A molecular timepiece that ticks away the time with a flash of fluorescent protein could provide the basis for novel biosensors. The clock, or synthetic gene oscillator, is a feat of synthetic biology--a fledgling field in which researchers engineer novel biological "parts" into organisms.

To create the clock, scientists genetically engineered a molecular oscillator composed of multiple gene promoters, which turn genes on in the presence of certain chemicals, and genes themselves, one of which codes for a fluorescent protein. When expressed in E. coli bacteria, the feedback system turns the fluorescent gene on and off at regular intervals.

The clock's oscillations can be tuned by the temperature at which the E. coli are grown, the nutrients they are fed, and specific chemical triggers. According to a paper published today in Nature, the fastest oscillations that the scientists have recorded so far are about 13 minutes.

"The on-off frequency could potentially be used to determine the level of some toxic chemical in the environment," says Jeff Hasty, a bioengineer at UC San Diego, who led the project. "One could make simple modifications so that it responded to other chemicals or sugars."

According to a press release from UC San Diego,

One next step is to synchronize the clocks within large numbers of E. coli cells so that all the cells in a test tube would blink in unison. "This would start to look a lot like the makings of a fascinating environmental sensor," said Jeff Hasty, a UC San Diego bioengineering professor and senior author on the Nature paper. Researchers in his lab have also developed sophisticated microfluidic systems capable of controlling environmental conditions of their E. coli cells with great precision. This enables the bioengineers to track exactly what environmental conditions affect their clocks' blink rates.

Comments

  • long time coming
    congrats----i'm glad to see someone finally saw this thorough 8 years after Elowitz's bogus Repressilator nonsense.
    Rate this comment: 12345

    ajh20
    10/30/2008
    Posts:11
    Avg Rating:
    2/5
  • Glad to see someone finally
    Glad to see someone finally saw this thorough 8 years after Elowitz's bogus Repressilator nonsense.
    club penguin
    Rate this comment: 12345

    hankjmatt
    06/16/2009
    Posts:6
    Avg Rating:
    1/5
  • Amazing
    This is truly futuristic technology, I am quite impressed by the exact measurements this molecular clock can do.

    George Foreman outdoor grill designer engineer
    Rate this comment: 12345

    georgejforem...
    07/20/2009
    Posts:1
    Avg Rating:
    1/5
  • [no subject]
    I would have thought it would have been better.
    Make Money Online
    Rate this comment: 12345

    AlbertF
    07/28/2009
    Posts:1
    Avg Rating:
    1/5
  • Molecular clock size
    This is a very interesting design, the molecular clock would allow to greatly reduce the size compared to the regular quartz. If this technology was to be developed further, we should for example be able to make a ring become a watch if we are able to shrink the size sufficiently.
    Lily Grayn, Seattle hotel reservations attendant and culinary arts degrees councillor
    Rate this comment: 12345

    lilygrayn
    09/09/2009
    Posts:1
  • amazing
    I love hearing about stuff like this! Advancements will continually take place and I can't wait until all this somehow connects to space exploration. How to quit smoking
    Rate this comment: 12345

    johnb91
    09/12/2009
    Posts:1
  • [no subject]
    It really is incredible to see just how fast technology is advancing. Who would have though we would be talking about something like this? I sure didn't!
    Bill Gassett ~ Framingham MA Real Estate
    Rate this comment: 12345

    Framingham M...
    09/25/2009
    Posts:3
    Avg Rating:
    5/5
  • [no subject]
    Great clock all that time and effort and your still going to be late for work.
    Rate this comment: 12345

    jaynepetters...
    10/09/2009
    Posts:1
    Avg Rating:
    1/5
  • Thanks
    Thank you for this informative article.

    http://buywheelchairs.livejournal.com
    Rate this comment: 12345

    alphat
    10/10/2009
    Posts:1
  • Great post
    This is a cool invention. I recently also discovered another cool invention bladeless electric fans
    Rate this comment: 12345

    Freddy449
    10/17/2009
    Posts:2
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