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Controlling spatiotemporal pattern formation in a concentration gradient with a synthetic toggle switch

View ORCID ProfileIçvara Barbier, View ORCID ProfileRubén Perez Carrasco, View ORCID ProfileYolanda Schaerli
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/849711
Içvara Barbier
1Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Biophore Building, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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  • ORCID record for Içvara Barbier
Rubén Perez Carrasco
2Department of Mathematics, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT London, United Kingdom
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  • For correspondence: r.carrasco@ucl.ac.uk yolanda.schaerli@unil.ch
Yolanda Schaerli
1Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Biophore Building, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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  • For correspondence: r.carrasco@ucl.ac.uk yolanda.schaerli@unil.ch
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Abstract

The formation of spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression is frequently guided by gradients of diffusible signaling molecules. The toggle switch subnetwork, composed of two cross-repressing transcription factors, is a common component of gene regulatory networks in charge of patterning, converting the continuous information provided by the gradient into discrete abutting stripes of gene expression. We present a synthetic biology framework to understand and characterize the spatiotemporal patterning properties of the toggle switch. To this end, we built a synthetic toggle switch controllable by diffusible molecules in Escherichia coli. We analyzed the patterning capabilities of the circuit by combining quantitative measurements with a mathematical reconstruction of the underlying dynamical system. The toggle switch can produce robust patterns with sharp boundaries, governed by bistability and hysteresis. We further demonstrate how the hysteresis, position, timing, and precision of the boundary can be controlled, highlighting the dynamical flexibility of the circuit.

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Posted November 21, 2019.
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Controlling spatiotemporal pattern formation in a concentration gradient with a synthetic toggle switch
Içvara Barbier, Rubén Perez Carrasco, Yolanda Schaerli
bioRxiv 849711; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/849711
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Controlling spatiotemporal pattern formation in a concentration gradient with a synthetic toggle switch
Içvara Barbier, Rubén Perez Carrasco, Yolanda Schaerli
bioRxiv 849711; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/849711

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