The field of synthetic biology has used the engineered assembly of synthetic gene networks to create a wide range of functions in biological systems. To date, gene-circuit-based sensors have primarily used optical proteins (for example, fluorescent, colorimetric) as reporter outputs, which has limited the potential to measure multiple distinct signals. Here we present an electrochemical interface that permits expanded multiplexed reporting for cell-free gene-circuit-based sensors. We have engineered a scalable system of reporter enzymes that cleave specific DNA sequences in solution, which results in an electrochemical signal when these newly liberated strands are captured at the surface of a nanostructured microelectrode. We describe the development of this interface and show its utility using a ligand-inducible gene circuit and toehold switch-based sensors by demonstrating the detection of multiple antibiotic resistance genes in parallel. This technology has the potential to expand the field of synthetic biology by providing an interface for materials, hardware and software.

中文翻译：

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用于基于基因电路的传感器的多路电化学接口。

合成生物学领域已使用合成基因网络的工程组装在生物系统中创建广泛的功能。迄今为止，基于基因电路的传感器主要使用光学蛋白（例如荧光蛋白、比色蛋白）作为报告输出，这限制了测量多个不同信号的潜力。在这里，我们提出了一种电化学接口，允许扩展基于无细胞基因电路的传感器的多路复用报告。我们设计了一个可扩展的报告酶系统，可以在溶液中切割特定的 DNA 序列，当这些新释放的链被纳米结构微电极的表面捕获时，会产生电化学信号。我们描述了该界面的开发，并通过演示对多个抗生素抗性基因的并行检测，展示了其使用配体诱导基因电路和基于立足点开关的传感器的实用性。通过为材料、硬件和软件提供接口，该技术具有扩展合成生物学领域的潜力。