RUI: MPS-BIO: Collaborative Research: Design and Construction of Second-Generation Bacterial Computers

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Bacteria can be modified, through synthetic biology approaches, to function as biological computers. They can be programmed with DNA sequences, interact naturally with other cells and the environment, power themselves from food sources, and respond to directed evolution. Biological computing is not yet widespread, and this project will develop second-generation bacterial computers capable of addressing mathematical problems in graph theory, probability, theory of computation, and artificial intelligence. The project will identify problems that are scalable and generalizable, develop a system of classifying the bacterial computational complexity of mathematical problems, and construct mathematical models and computer simulations to assess the design feasibility of new bacterial computer programming languages. Proven and novel bacterial computing mechanisms will be used to program bacterial computers to solve the selected mathematical problems. Broader Impacts. This project will provide multidisciplinary education and research training for undergraduate students (including members of groups under-represented in science) at the interface of mathematics, synthetic biology and computer science. Students will pose research questions, develop testable hypotheses, collect and analyze data, and communicate results through publications and at scientific meetings. This project is supported jointly by the Networks and Regulation and Mathematical Biology Programs.