Emergent digital bio-computation through spatial diffusion and engineered bacteria.
Nat Commun
; 15(1): 4896, 2024 Jun 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38851790
ABSTRACT
Biological computing is a promising field with potential applications in biosafety, environmental monitoring, and personalized medicine. Here we present work on the design of bacterial computers using spatial patterning to process information in the form of diffusible morphogen-like signals. We demonstrate, mathematically and experimentally, that single, modular, colonies can perform simple digital logic, and that complex functions can be built by combining multiple colonies, removing the need for further genetic engineering. We extend our experimental system to incorporate sender colonies as morphogen sources, demonstrating how one might integrate different biochemical inputs. Our approach will open up ways to perform biological computation, with applications in bioengineering, biomaterials and biosensing. Ultimately, these computational bacterial communities will help us explore information processing in natural biological systems.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Escherichia coli
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article