Electrogenetics: Controlling biological functions through electrically activated transcription
Abstract
The U.S. Air Force’s goal of creating new bioelectric devices for improving human capabilities, human-machine interfaces, and developing advanced hybrid biotic-abiotic systems depends on the ability to control the interface between biology and electronics. Many innovative technologies that add functionality to the biotic-abiotic interface have been created including in vivo metabolite sensing and electrical stimulation, the conversion of chemical binding and reaction events to electrical outputs, and the monitoring and activation of cell electrophysiology, among others. Missing from these technologies is the ability to directly interface electrical inputs with the central dogma of molecular biology: the transfer of gene-encoded information through transcription, translation, and protein function. This project seeks to address this critical technology gap by engineering electrically-activated transcription. By engineering redox- sensitive transcription factors, cell and cell-free technologies that activate genes of interest through low voltage inputs will be developed. Translation of the RNA products creates functional proteins, thus enabling the control of biological function from electrical inputs. The term electrogenetics is proposed to describe such technologies. A synthetic biology approach will be taken to harness and engineer the native ability of naturally redox-sensitive transcription factors (e.g., OxyR and SoxR from Escherichia coli) to create the first electrogenetic parts and develop electrode-based systems that can activate and repress transcription. The toolbox of electrogenetic parts will be expanded by analyzing transcriptional data from the metal-reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, to discover the proteins and transcription factors that enable the bacterium to rapidly alter its transcriptome in response to changes in redox potential. The new field of electrogenetics will be demonstrated by creating cell-free systems
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 28, 2017
- Source ID
- FA95501710270
Entities
People
- Ian R Wheeldon
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California Regents