Bioengineers learn the secrets to turning genes on and off accurately

In a recent study conducted by the University of Bristol, scientists showed how to simultaneously control various forms of regulation in living cells to strictly control gene expression and open up new avenues for improved biotechnologies.

Engineered microbes are increasingly being used to enable sustainable and clean production of chemicals, medicines and more. To make this possible, bioengineers must control when specific sets of genes are turned on and off to allow careful regulation of the biochemical processes involved.

Their findings are reported today in the newspaper Nature Communications.

Veronica Greco, lead author and Ph.D. funded by the Royal Society. a student at the Bristol School of Biological Sciences, said: “Although turning a gene on or off seems simple, getting a living cell to do it under command is a real challenge. Each cell is slightly different and the processes involved are not 100 percent reliable. “

To solve this problem, the team was inspired by nature, where the main events are usually controlled by several processes simultaneously.

Veronica Greco added: “If you look at a Venus trap, you will find that it only closes when several strands of hair are triggered together. This helps to reduce the chance of a trap being closed accidentally. We wanted to do something similar by controlling the expression of a gene within a cell, adding various levels of regulation to ensure that it only happens precisely when we want to. “

Professor Claire Grierson, co-author and director of the Bristol School of Biological Sciences, added: “What was wonderful about this project was how well it worked to take advantage of two of the central processes present in each cell and sustaining all of life – transcription and translation. “

The team showed that, using this type of multi-level regulation, they could create some of the highest performing switches for gene expression built to date.

In addition, working in collaboration with Dr. Amir Pandi and Prof Tobias Erb of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Bristol, the team was able to take it a step further. They demonstrated that, even when used outside living cells, these multi-level systems offered one of the most stringent controls on gene expression ever seen.

Dr. Thomas Gorochowski, senior author and researcher at the Royal Society University in Bristol, said: “When we create microbes, we often try to simplify our systems as much as possible, thinking that we will have better control over what is going on. But what we show is that embracing some of the inherent complexity of biology may be the key to fully unlocking its potential for the high-precision biotechnologies of tomorrow. ”