BioTransistors

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Synthetic biology aims to develop protocols, reusable biomolecular components, and engineering tools for the rational design of synthetic biological systems that fulfil certain biotechnological, bioprocessing or biomedical purposes. It builds on genetic engineering and combines traditional molecular biology approaches with systems-level information and engineering perspectives. Progress in this fledgling and rapidly developing discipline has followed two complementary lines of research: first, molecular machines have been constructed and characterised that mimic electronic devices (such as switches, simple oscillators and sensors); second, pathways are reengineered --- increasingly with considerable success --- to produce biotechnologically important compounds at reliable rates. But most components generated thus far are limited to simple logic elements; equally, the bulk of engineered biological systems are ``dumb" in the sense that they fulfil their function in a predetermined and non-adaptive or environmentally aware manner. In the proposed project we will try to generate a novel class of biomolecular device which mimic the characteristics of transistors in electronics. Transistors have revolutionised the field of electronics and fuelled the progress in computing and consumer technologies . They are used widely in digital and analog electronics and at the most basic level they are devices that amplify and switch signals and power. They do so in more efficient way than previous technologies which has allowed the integration of vast numbers of transistors in single devices which underlies modern computer and processor technologies. In the biological domain transistors have remained elusive but are highly desirable; in recent surveys they were regarded as important milestones towards synthetic biology becoming a reliable tool in biotechnology and bioprocessing. The proposed project will deliver biological equivalents of transistors, characterize their design features and performance under realistic biological settings, and investigate their use in exemplar applications. We will furthermore determine the extent to which naturally evolved systems harbour transistor-like features already. Finally, we will develop novel statistical and computational approaches that can be used in the design of biosynthetic systems.