Researchers at MIT turn E. coli into a digital display

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., have turned Escherichia coli (E. coli) into a digital display, by encoding a synthetic genetic circuit in its DNA. This feat was reported in Molecular Systems Biology on March 5, 2020.

To achieve this researchers used a design automation software to build seven E. coli strains with synthetic genetic circuits that respond by fluorescence ON and OFF states to four small molecule inducers. These E. coli strains were placed into seven chambers arranged in the layout of a single digit from a clock radio. 

Putting synthetic circuits inside DNA allow cells to be programmed to perform operations or follow rules. The genetic design automation software allows researchers to select a function for which the software then designs a circuit and maps it into DNA code. Researchers then created a 3D-printed scaffold with seven chambers of dimensions 56 by 36.4 by 6 mm. The pattern for the scaffold was designed with Autodesk Fusion 306, and printed the scaffold with Nylon PA12.

Researchers Jonghyeon Shin, Shuyi Zhang, Bryan S Der, Alec AK Nielsen, and Christopher A. Voigt realized the importance of genetic stability as they began testing the genetic circuit designs. Early project designs did not work immediately due to depletion of cellular resources. It took several different attempts before a design compatible with resources of E. coli was found.