Optimization-based Eukaryotic Genetic Circuit Design (EuGeneCiD) and modeling (EuGeneCiM) tools: Computational approach to synthetic biology

Abstract

Summary: Synthetic biology has the potential to revolutionize the biotech industry and our everyday lives and is already making an impact. Developing synthetic biology applications requires several steps including design and modeling efforts which may be performed by in silico tools. In this work, we have developed two such tools, Eukaryotic Genetic Circuit Design (EuGeneCiD) and Modeling (EuGeneCiM), which use optimization concepts and bioparts including promotors, transcripts, and terminators in designing and modeling genetic circuits. EuGeneCiD and EuGeneCiM preclude problematic designs leading to future synthetic biology application development pipelines. EuGeneCiD and EuGeneCiM are applied to developing 30 basic logic gates as genetic circuit conceptualizations which respond to heavy metal ions pairs as input signals for Arabidopsis thaliana. For each conceptualization, hundreds of potential solutions were designed and modeled. Demonstrating its time-dependence and the importance of including enzyme and transcript degradation in modeling, EuGeneCiM is used to model a repressilator circuit.

Keywords

• Biotechnology
• Systems biology
• Synthetic biology