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- Title
Emergent digital bio-computation through spatial diffusion and engineered bacteria.
- Authors
Fedorec, Alex J. H.; Treloar, Neythen J.; Wen, Ke Yan; Dekker, Linda; Ong, Qing Hsuan; Jurkeviciute, Gabija; Lyu, Enbo; Rutter, Jack W.; Zhang, Kathleen J. Y.; Rosa, Luca; Zaikin, Alexey; Barnes, Chris P.
- Abstract
Biological computing is a promising field with potential applications in biosafety, environmental monitoring, and personalized medicine. Here we present work on the design of bacterial computers using spatial patterning to process information in the form of diffusible morphogen-like signals. We demonstrate, mathematically and experimentally, that single, modular, colonies can perform simple digital logic, and that complex functions can be built by combining multiple colonies, removing the need for further genetic engineering. We extend our experimental system to incorporate sender colonies as morphogen sources, demonstrating how one might integrate different biochemical inputs. Our approach will open up ways to perform biological computation, with applications in bioengineering, biomaterials and biosensing. Ultimately, these computational bacterial communities will help us explore information processing in natural biological systems. Biological computing is a promising field with potential applications in biosafety, environmental monitoring, and personalized medicine. Here the authors create bio-computers using engineered E. coli colonies that respond to chemical gradients, producing different logic functions depending on how they are spatially arranged.
- Subjects
BACTERIAL colonies; COMPUTER logic; BIOLOGICAL systems; BIOMATERIALS; ENVIRONMENTAL monitoring; INDIVIDUALIZED medicine
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2024, Vol 15, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-49264-3