Submitted by S.A. Norwood on Thu, 09/12/2021 - 11:29
The Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society Michaelmas Keynote this year will be delivered, over Zoom, by Professor Matthew Bennett (Departments of Biosciences & Bioengineering, Rice University) at 6 PM GMT on Monday 13th December.
The talk is free and open to all - please register in advance via the following link: https://bit.ly/CUSBS_M21_key
Time: Monday 13th December 2021, 6 PM GMT
Speaker: Professor Matthew Bennett (Departments of Biosciences & Bioengineering, Rice University)
Title: “Multicellular synthetic biology: Understanding the design principles of intercellular communication”
Abstract: Synthetic biologists have long sought to rationally engineer genetic regulatory networks for a variety of reasons. For instance, the basic science of understanding gene regulation has prospered due to our ability to intricately construct, perturb, and monitor gene networks in living cells. Further, synthetic biologists have designed a host of systems for practical biomedical and industrial applications. However, as synthetic biology pushes the limits of genetic engineering it is becoming increasing clear that synthetic multicellular systems will be required to accomplish tasks that are difficult for single cells or homogeneous colonies. In this talk, I will describe our lab’s recent efforts to better understand and engineer intercellular communication in multicellular bacterial systems. In particular, I will discuss how the network topologies of intercellular gene regulatory networks influence the spatiotemporal coordination of gene expression in synthetic microbial consortia. Further, I will present recent engineering work in which we designed and implemented a system that allows E. coli to asymmetrically and irreversibly differentiate into multiple cell types. Overall, our results point the way toward engineering synthetic “organisms” from the ground up.
We hope the talk will bring an exciting close to the Society’s offerings this calendar year and we look forward to seeing you there!
Chris Micklem (External Affairs Officer)
On behalf of the Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society Committee
