title: Employing aromatic tuning to modulate output from two-component signaling circuits.
abstract: Two-component signaling circuits (TCSs) govern the majority of environmental, pathogenic and industrial processes undertaken by bacteria. Therefore, controlling signal output from these circuits in a stimulus-independent manner is of central importance to synthetic microbiologists. Aromatic tuning, or repositioning the aromatic residues commonly found at the cytoplasmic end of the final TM helix has been shown to modulate signal output from the aspartate chemoreceptor (Tar) and the major osmosensor (EnvZ) of Escherichia coli. Aromatic residues are found in a similar location within other bacterial membrane-spanning receptors, suggesting that aromatic tuning could be harnessed for a wide-range of applications. Here, a brief synopsis of the data underpinning aromatic tuning, the initial successes with the method and the inherent advantages over those previously employed for modulating TCS signal output are presented.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacy, Durham University, Queen's Campus, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 6BH England UK.
authors.forename: Rahmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, St. Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, England UK.
authors.forename: Roger R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Draheim
keywords: Aromatic tuning; Receptor engineering; Signal modulation; Synthetic circuits; Synthetic microbiology