The RADx Tech Test Verification Core and the ACME POCT in the Evaluation of COVID-19 Testing Devices: A Model for Progress and Change.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the US system for developing and testing technologies was challenged in unparalleled ways. This article describes the multi-institutional, transdisciplinary team of the "RADxSM Tech Test Verification Core" and its role in expediting evaluations of COVID-19 testing devices. Expertise related to aspects of diagnostic testing was coordinated to evaluate testing devices with the goal of significantly expanding the ability to mass screen Americans to preserve lives and facilitate the safe return to work and school. Focal points included: laboratory and clinical device evaluation of the limit of viral detection, sensitivity, and specificity of devices in controlled and community settings; regulatory expertise to provide focused attention to barriers to device approval and distribution; usability testing from the perspective of patients and those using the tests to identify and overcome device limitations, and engineering assessment to evaluate robustness of design including human factors, manufacturability, and scalability.

Light Forge: A Microfluidic DNA Melting-based Tuberculosis Test.

BACKGROUND: There is a well-documented lack of rapid, low-cost tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance diagnostics in low-income settings across the globe. It is these areas that are plagued with a disproportionately high disease burden and in greatest need of these diagnostics. METHODS: In this study, we compared the performance of Light Forge, a microfluidic high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) prototype for rapid low-cost detection of TB drug resistance with a commercial HRMA device, a predictive "nearest-neighbor" thermodynamic model, DNA sequencing, and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST). The initial development and assessment of the Light Forge assay was performed with 7 phenotypically drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) that had their rpoB gene subsequently sequenced to confirm resistance to Rifampin. These isolates of M.tb were then compared against a drug-susceptible standard, H37Rv. Seven strains of M.tb were isolated from clinical specimens and individually analyzed to characterize the unique melting profile of each strain. RESULTS: Light Forge was able to detect drug-resistance linked mutations with 100% concordance to the sequencing, phenotypic DST and the "nearest neighbor" thermodynamic model. Researchers were then blinded to the resistance profile of the seven M.tb strains. In this experiment, Light Forge correctly classified 7 out of 9 strains as either drug resistant or drug susceptible. CONCLUSIONS: Light Forge represents a promising prototype for a fast, low-cost diagnostic alternative for detection of drug resistant strains of TB in resource constrained settings.

A synthetic Escherichia coli predator-prey ecosystem.

We have constructed a synthetic ecosystem consisting of two Escherichia coli populations, which communicate bi-directionally through quorum sensing and regulate each other's gene expression and survival via engineered gene circuits. Our synthetic ecosystem resembles canonical predator-prey systems in terms of logic and dynamics. The predator cells kill the prey by inducing expression of a killer protein in the prey, while the prey rescue the predators by eliciting expression of an antidote protein in the predator. Extinction, coexistence and oscillatory dynamics of the predator and prey populations are possible depending on the operating conditions as experimentally validated by long-term culturing of the system in microchemostats. A simple mathematical model is developed to capture these system dynamics. Coherent interplay between experiments and mathematical analysis enables exploration of the dynamics of interacting populations in a predictable manner.

Biology by design: reduction and synthesis of cellular components and behaviour.

Biological research is experiencing an increasing focus on the application of knowledge rather than on its generation. Thanks to the increased understanding of cellular systems and technological advances, biologists are more frequently asking not only 'how can I understand the structure and behaviour of this biological system?', but also 'how can I apply that knowledge to generate novel functions in different biological systems or in other contexts?' Active pursuit of the latter has nurtured the emergence of synthetic biology. Here, we discuss the motivation behind, and foundational technologies enabling, the development of this nascent field. We examine some early successes and applications while highlighting the challenges involved. Finally, we consider future directions and mention non-scientific considerations that can influence the field's growth.

Confinement-Induced Drug-Tolerance in Mycobacteria Mediated by an Efflux Mechanism.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's deadliest curable disease, responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths annually. A considerable challenge in controlling this disease is the prolonged multidrug chemotherapy (6 to 9 months) required to overcome drug-tolerant mycobacteria that persist in human tissues, although the same drugs can sterilize genetically identical mycobacteria growing in axenic culture within days. An essential component of TB infection involves intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that multiply within macrophages and are significantly more tolerant to antibiotics compared to extracellular mycobacteria. To investigate this aspect of human TB, we created a physical cell culture system that mimics confinement of replicating mycobacteria, such as in a macrophage during infection. Using this system, we uncovered an epigenetic drug-tolerance phenotype that appears when mycobacteria are cultured in space-confined bioreactors and disappears in larger volume growth contexts. Efflux mechanisms that are induced in space-confined growth environments contribute to this drug-tolerance phenotype. Therefore, macrophage-induced drug tolerance by mycobacteria may be an effect of confined growth among other macrophage-specific mechanisms.

The new role of the microchemostat in the bioengineering revolution.

Since the inception of synthetic biology as a discipline, bioengineers have used the electronic circuit paradigm to analyze, model, simulate and interpret the behavior of genetic circuits. In this paper, we elaborate upon the effect of evolution as an overriding attribute of the biological systems, which makes genetic circuits inherently fickle compared to their electronic counterparts. Shrinking the volume of programmed microbial population reduces the effects of evolution. This concept was demonstrated by characterizing the dynamics of Escherichia coli cells carrying a synthetic "population control" circuit, which regulates cell density through a feedback mechanism based on quorum sensing. The microchemostat prolonged the lifetime of the programmed circuit by at least an order of magnitude compared macro-scale characterization schemes.

Long-term monitoring of bacteria undergoing programmed population control in a microchemostat.

Using an active approach to preventing biofilm formation, we implemented a microfluidic bioreactor that enables long-term culture and monitoring of extremely small populations of bacteria with single-cell resolution. We used this device to observe the dynamics of Escherichia coli carrying a synthetic "population control" circuit that regulates cell density through a feedback mechanism based on quorum sensing. The microfluidic bioreactor enabled long-term monitoring of unnatural behavior programmed by the synthetic circuit, which included sustained oscillations in cell density and associated morphological changes, over hundreds of hours.