Cellular logic with orthogonal ribosomes.
The creation and use of unnatural molecules to control cellular function is a long standing goal of the chemical community, but in general, these efforts have been directed at finding molecules to inhibit or activate a particular molecular target or function, or to elicit a particular phenotype. Here we show that multiple unnatural molecules (orthogonal ribosomes) can be used combinatorially, in a single cell, to program Boolean logic functions. These experiments show how attention to the molecular specificity of noncovalent interactions between unnatural macromolecules allows the synthesis of complex function from the "bottom-up" in living matter.
Rackham
Oliver
O
Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
Chin
Jason W
JW
D001483:Base Sequence; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000235:genetics; D005452:Fluoresceins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005453:Fluorescence; D005697:Galactosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008128:Logic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000235:genetics*; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000378:metabolism
D005452:Fluoresceins; D005697:Galactosides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; C038848:fluorescein-digalactoside; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D001616:beta-Galactosidase