UC San Diego

One of the pursuits of synthetic biology is to harness gene expression by reprogramming cells to perform useful functions. As one of the most thoroughly characterized model organisms, Escherichia coli presents significant potential for engineering synthetic circuits. In this work I present both simple circuits designed for biosensing applications, as well as novel strategies that may allow combining such simple circuits into more complex networks. Specifically, I describe methods for both negative and positive dynamic modulation of plasmids in E. coli, allowing for control of gene expression without requiring specially engineered promoters. Combining individual synthetic modules will be necessary for encoding more complex circuit logic and function.