Technology or method
Synthetic biology
Designing and building new biological parts, circuits and systems.
Emerging researchOpen in Biotech Lab
Gene circuits
Engineered networks of genes that behave like switches or clocks. Landmark examples were built in bacteria in 2000.Source: Gardner et al., 2000Source: Elowitz & Leibler, 2000
Step 3 of 8ReadingTechnology or method
How Gene circuits connects
Gene circuits is an example of
Gene circuits uses
Process
Gene expression
Using a gene's information to make its product. Cells switch genes on and off as conditions change.
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Sources & further reading
The explanations on this page are our own summaries of these sources. Follow a link to read the original; if anything here disagrees with it, the original wins. How we choose and check sources.
Construction of a genetic toggle switch in Escherichia coli (opens the original in a new tab)
Gardner TS, Cantor CR, Collins JJ (2000). Nature 403:339-342.
Two mutually repressing genes form a switch with two stable states.
Peer-reviewedPrimary researchA synthetic oscillatory network of transcriptional regulators (opens the original in a new tab)
Elowitz MB, Leibler S (2000). Nature 403:335-338.
The repressilator: three repressors wired in a loop produce oscillations.
Peer-reviewedPrimary research