EMT/BSSE: RNA switches and logic gates for biomolecular computation in vitro

活细胞不断监测周围环境的物理和化学变化，并通过控制细胞内的遗传和生化过程作出反应。这些过程涉及复杂的传感和信息处理，与传统的硅基对应物非常不同。研究人员将开发新的生物启发系统，能够在无细胞条件下进行复杂的分子传感和基本计算。细胞-细胞基因开关和电路可以用作使用生物元件来实现复杂功能的更大系统或设备的一部分，例如生物传感器和诊断设备。此外，该项目将使我们更深入地了解RNA如何控制活细胞中的基因表达，这将进一步提高我们设计具有复杂功能的合成基因电路的能力。该研究将集中于开发基于RNA的分子传感器和在无细胞条件下发挥功能的基因电路。研究人员将开发新技术，从实验室的大量突变体中分离RNA开关和电路。复杂的电路将使用由该技术生成的较简单的部件来构建。在项目期间开发的基因开关和逻辑门将可作为其他生物分子器件和系统的部件重复使用，因此它们将存放在公共数据库中。该项目的拟议教育部分将为本科生提供一个特殊的机会，让他们在加州大学戴维斯分校的课堂和实验室里，以小团队的形式参与真实的问题解决活动。

Living cells constantly monitor their surroundings for physical and chemical changes and respond by controlling genetic and biochemical processes inside the cell. These processes involve sophisticated sensing and information processing that are very different from the conventional silicon-based counterparts. The investigators will develop novel biologically-inspired systems capable of sophisticated molecular sensing and elementary computations in cell-free conditions. The cell-fee gene switches and circuits could be used as a part of larger systems or devices that use biological elements to achieve complex functions, such as biosensors and diagnostic devices. Additionally, the project will enable deeper understanding of how RNAs control gene expression in living cells, which will further enhance our ability to engineer synthetic gene circuits with complex functions.The research will focus on the development of RNA-based molecular sensors and gene circuits that function in cell-free conditions. The investigators will develop new techniques to isolate RNA switches and circuits from a large pool of mutants in the laboratory. Complex circuits will be built using the simpler parts generated by the techniques. The gene switches and logic gates that will be developed during the project period will be reusable as parts in other biomolecular devices and systems, thus they will be deposited in a public database. The proposed educational component of the project will provide an exceptional opportunity for undergraduate students to engage in real problem solving activities in small teams, both in the classroom and in the laboratory at University of California, Davis.