Natural and synthetic mechanisms for emergent multicellular patterning : delayed signaling dynamics and bacterial self-assembly
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Natural multicellular organisms are capable of self-organizing intricate spatiotemporal patterns, often with single-cell precision. In contrast, our ability to understand and engineer multicellular spatial organization remains incredibly limited. In my thesis I approach this problem in two ways: (1) through a theoretical analysis of natural checkerboard patterns formed through lateral inhibition; and (2) by engineering the first 100% genetically encoded system for self-assembly of bacterial microstructures. For the first project, I noted that the delay in signal transduction between neighboring cells in lateral inhibition had not been explored. I developed a theoretical model including this delay explicitly, and found surprisingly that this delay precludes defects from forming within a differentiating tissue. In the second project, I noted that synthetic biologists have engineered a number of systems for differentiation and cell-cell signaling, but none for cell-cell adhesion. However, all three tools are crucial for multicellularity. I therefore developed a set of tunable, orthogonal, composable adhesins for cell-cell adhesion in Escherichia coli. The resulting tool enabled me to produce strains of bacteria that bind to one another to form cluster-, mesh-, and lattice-like arrangements, even while growing and dividing. Both projects help shed light on principles of self-organization. The adhesion system in particular will enable future development of synthetic multicellular systems for use in consortia-based metabolic engineering, in living materials, in tissue engineering, and in controlled study of minimal multicellular systems.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Glass, David Shaanan |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Bioengineering. |
| Primary advisor | Riedel-Kruse, Hans |
| Thesis advisor | Riedel-Kruse, Hans |
| Thesis advisor | Endy, Andrew D |
| Thesis advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Thesis advisor | Spormann, Alfred M |
| Advisor | Endy, Andrew D |
| Advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Advisor | Spormann, Alfred M |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | David Shaanan Glass. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Bioengineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by David Shaanan Glass
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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