Bacterial genomes encode the biosynthetic potential to produce hundreds of thousands of
complex molecules with diverse applications, from medicine to agriculture and materials …

Cells navigate environments, communicate and build complex patterns by initiating gene
expression in response to specific signals. Engineers seek to harness this capability to …

Transcription rates are regulated by the interactions between RNA polymerase, sigma factor,
and promoter DNA sequences in bacteria. However, it remains unclear how non-canonical …

Engineered genetic systems are prone to failure when their genetic parts contain repetitive
sequences. Designing many nonrepetitive genetic parts with desired functionalities remains …

Gene expression occurs in two essential steps: transcription and translation. In bacteria, the
two processes are tightly coupled in time and space, and highly regulated. Tight regulation …

Models of transcription are often built around a picture of RNA polymerase and transcription
factors (TFs) acting on a single copy of a promoter. However, most TFs are shared between …

Metabolite biosensors are central to current efforts toward precision engineering of
metabolism. Although most research has focused on building new biosensors, their …

One challenge for synthetic biologists is the predictable tuning of genetic circuit regulatory
components to elicit desired outputs. Gene expression driven by ligand-inducible …

Variability in gene expression among genetically identical cells has emerged as a central
preoccupation in the study of gene regulation; however, a divide exists between the …

Our understanding of translation underpins our capacity to engineer living systems. The
canonical start codon (AUG) and a few near-cognates (GUG, UUG) are considered as the …