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Caringella G, Bandiera L, Menolascina F. Recent advances, opportunities and challenges in cybergenetic identification and control of biomolecular networks. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 80:102893. [PMID: 36706519 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cybergenetics is a new area of research aimed at developing digital and biological controllers for living systems. Synthetic biologists have begun exploiting cybergenetic tools and platforms to both accelerate the development of mathematical models and develop control strategies for complex biological phenomena. Here, we review the state of the art in cybergenetic identification and control. Our aim is to lower the entry barrier to this field and foster the adoption of methods and technologies that will accelerate the pace at which Synthetic Biology progresses toward applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianpio Caringella
- School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK
| | - Lucia Bandiera
- School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK; Centre for Engineering Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK
| | - Filippo Menolascina
- School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK; Centre for Engineering Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
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de Cesare I, Salzano D, di Bernardo M, Renson L, Marucci L. Control-Based Continuation: A New Approach to Prototype Synthetic Gene Networks. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2300-2313. [PMID: 35729740 PMCID: PMC9295158 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
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Control-Based Continuation
(CBC) is a general and systematic method
to carry out the bifurcation analysis of physical experiments. CBC
does not rely on a mathematical model and thus overcomes the uncertainty
introduced when identifying bifurcation curves indirectly through
modeling and parameter estimation. We demonstrate, in silico, CBC applicability to biochemical processes by tracking the equilibrium
curve of a toggle switch, which includes additive process noise and
exhibits bistability. We compare the results obtained when CBC uses
a model-free and model-based control strategy and show that both can
track stable and unstable solutions, revealing bistability. We then
demonstrate CBC in conditions more representative of an in
vivo experiment using an agent-based simulator describing
cell growth and division, cell-to-cell variability, spatial distribution,
and diffusion of chemicals. We further show how the identified curves
can be used for parameter estimation and discuss how CBC can significantly
accelerate the prototyping of synthetic gene regulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene de Cesare
- Engineering Mathematics Department, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TW, U.K.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Davide Salzano
- Engineering Mathematics Department, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TW, U.K.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Mario di Bernardo
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Ludovic Renson
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, U.K
| | - Lucia Marucci
- Engineering Mathematics Department, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TW, U.K.,BrisSynBio, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.,School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K
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Pedone E, de Cesare I, Zamora-Chimal CG, Haener D, Postiglione L, La Regina A, Shannon B, Savery NJ, Grierson CS, di Bernardo M, Gorochowski TE, Marucci L. Cheetah: A Computational Toolkit for Cybergenetic Control. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:979-989. [PMID: 33904719 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Advances in microscopy, microfluidics, and optogenetics enable single-cell monitoring and environmental regulation and offer the means to control cellular phenotypes. The development of such systems is challenging and often results in bespoke setups that hinder reproducibility. To address this, we introduce Cheetah, a flexible computational toolkit that simplifies the integration of real-time microscopy analysis with algorithms for cellular control. Central to the platform is an image segmentation system based on the versatile U-Net convolutional neural network. This is supplemented with functionality to robustly count, characterize, and control cells over time. We demonstrate Cheetah's core capabilities by analyzing long-term bacterial and mammalian cell growth and by dynamically controlling protein expression in mammalian cells. In all cases, Cheetah's segmentation accuracy exceeds that of a commonly used thresholding-based method, allowing for more accurate control signals to be generated. Availability of this easy-to-use platform will make control engineering techniques more accessible and offer new ways to probe and manipulate living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Pedone
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, BS8 1TD Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Irene de Cesare
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Criseida G. Zamora-Chimal
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - David Haener
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Lorena Postiglione
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Antonella La Regina
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, BS8 1TD Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Shannon
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, BS8 1TD Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel J. Savery
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, BS8 1TD Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Claire S. Grierson
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Mario di Bernardo
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of EE and ICT, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Thomas E. Gorochowski
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Lucia Marucci
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Ada Lovelace Building, University Walk, BS8 1TW Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, BS8 1TD Bristol, United Kingdom
- BrisSynBio, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom
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4
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de Cesare I, Zamora-Chimal CG, Postiglione L, Khazim M, Pedone E, Shannon B, Fiore G, Perrino G, Napolitano S, di Bernardo D, Savery NJ, Grierson C, di Bernardo M, Marucci L. ChipSeg: An Automatic Tool to Segment Bacterial and Mammalian Cells Cultured in Microfluidic Devices. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:2473-2476. [PMID: 33553865 PMCID: PMC7859942 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c03906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Extracting quantitative measurements from time-lapse images is necessary in external feedback control applications, where segmentation results are used to inform control algorithms. We describe ChipSeg, a computational tool that segments bacterial and mammalian cells cultured in microfluidic devices and imaged by time-lapse microscopy, which can be used also in the context of external feedback control. The method is based on thresholding and uses the same core functions for both cell types. It allows us to segment individual cells in high cell density microfluidic devices, to quantify fluorescent protein expression over a time-lapse experiment, and to track individual mammalian cells. ChipSeg enables robust segmentation in external feedback control experiments and can be easily customized for other experimental settings and research aims.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene de Cesare
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
| | - Criseida G. Zamora-Chimal
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
| | - Lorena Postiglione
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
| | - Mahmoud Khazim
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- School
of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University
of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Elisa Pedone
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- School
of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University
of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Barbara Shannon
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Gianfranco Fiore
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
| | - Giansimone Perrino
- Telethon
Institute of Genetic and Medicine Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Sara Napolitano
- Telethon
Institute of Genetic and Medicine Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Diego di Bernardo
- Telethon
Institute of Genetic and Medicine Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
- Department
of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Nigel J. Savery
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Claire Grierson
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
| | - Mario di Bernardo
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
- Department
of EE and ICT, University of Naples Federico
II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Lucia Marucci
- Department
of Engineering Mathematics, University of
Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, U.K.
- BrisSynBio,
Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K.
- School
of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University
of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
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