Fern Joshua, Scalise Dominic, Cangialosi Angelo, Howie Dylan, Potters Leo, Schulman Rebecca
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and ‡Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.
ACS Synth Biol. 2017 Feb 17;6(2):190-193. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00170. Epub 2016 Oct 19.
Chemical circuits can coordinate elaborate sequences of events in cells and tissues, from the self-assembly of biological complexes to the sequence of embryonic development. However, autonomously directing the timing of events in synthetic systems using chemical signals remains challenging. Here we demonstrate that a simple synthetic DNA strand-displacement circuit can release target sequences of DNA into solution at a constant rate after a tunable delay that can range from hours to days. The rates of DNA release can be tuned to the order of 1-100 nM per day. Multiple timer circuits can release different DNA strands at different rates and times in the same solution. This circuit can thus facilitate precise coordination of chemical events in vitro without external stimulation.
化学回路可以协调细胞和组织中复杂的事件序列，从生物复合物的自组装到胚胎发育的序列。然而，利用化学信号自主控制合成系统中事件的时间仍然具有挑战性。在这里，我们证明了一个简单的合成DNA链置换回路可以在从数小时到数天的可调延迟后，以恒定速率将DNA靶序列释放到溶液中。DNA释放速率可以调节到每天1-100 nM的量级。多个定时器回路可以在同一溶液中以不同速率和不同时间释放不同的DNA链。因此，该回路可以在无外部刺激的情况下促进体外化学事件的精确协调。
