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Living computers: RNA circuits transform cells into nanodevices

July 26, 2017

ASU Biodesign researcher shows how cells can be induced to carry out computations — with implications in health and energy

The interdisciplinary nexus of biology and engineering, known as synthetic biology, is growing at a rapid pace, opening new vistas that could scarcely be imagined a short time ago.

In new research, Alex Green, an assistant professor at ASU’s Biodesign Institute, demonstrates how living cells can be induced to carry out computations in the manner of tiny robots or computers.

The results of the new study have significant implications for intelligent drug design and smart drug delivery, green energy production, low-cost diagnostic technologies and even the development of futuristic nanomachines capable of hunting down cancer cells or switching off aberrant genes. 

“We’re using very predictable and programmable RNA-RNA interactions to define what these circuits can do,” Green said. “That means we can use computer software to design RNA sequences that behave the way we want them to in a cell. It makes the design process a lot faster.” 

The study appears in the advance online edition of the journal Nature.

ASU researcher Alex Green

In new research, Alex Green, an assistant professor at ASU’s Biodesign Institute and School of Molecular Sciences, demonstrates how living cells can be induced to carry out computations in the manner of tiny robots or computers.

Designer RNA

The approach described uses circuits composed of ribonucleic acid or RNA. These circuit designs, which resemble conventional electronic circuits, self-assemble in bacterial cells, allowing them to sense incoming messages and respond to them by producing a particular computational output (in this case, a protein).

In the new study, specialized circuits known as logic gates were designed in the lab, then incorporated into living cells. The tiny circuit switches are tripped when messages (in the form of RNA fragments) attach themselves to their complementary RNA sequences in the cellular circuit, activating the logic gate and producing the desired output.

The RNA switches can be combined in various ways to produce more complex logic gates capable of evaluating and responding to multiple inputs, just as a simple computer may take several variables and perform sequential operations like addition and subtraction in order to reach a final result.

The new study dramatically improves the ease with which cellular computing may be carried out. The RNA-only approach to producing cellular nanodevices is a significant advance, as earlier efforts required the use of complex intermediaries, like proteins. Now, the necessary ribocomputing parts can be readily designed on a computer. The simple base-pairing properties of RNA’s four nucleotide letters (A, C, G and U) ensure the predictable self-assembly and functioning of these parts within a living cell.

Green’s work in this area began at the Wyss Institute at Harvard, where he helped develop the central component used in the cellular circuits, known as an RNA toehold switch. The work was carried out while Green was a post-doc working with nanotechnology expert Peng Yin, along with the synthetic biologists James Collins and Pamela Silver, who are all co-authors on the new paper.

“The first experiments were in 2012,” Green said. “Basically, the toehold switches performed so well that we wanted to find a way to best exploit them for cellular applications.”

Video courtesy of the Wyss Institute

After arriving at ASU, Green’s first grad student Duo Ma worked on experiments at the Biodesign Institute, while postdoctoral scholar Jongmin Kim continued similar work at the Wyss Institute. Both are also co-authors of the new study.

Nature’s Pentium chip

The possibility of using DNA and RNA, the molecules of life, to perform computer-like computations was first demonstrated in 1994 by Leonard Adleman of the University of Southern California. Since then, rapid progress has advanced the field considerably, and recently, such molecular computing has been accomplished within living cells. (Bacterial cells are usually employed for this purpose as they are simpler and easier to manipulate.)

The technique described in the new paper takes advantage of the fact that RNA, unlike DNA, is single-stranded when it is produced in cells. This allows researchers to design RNA circuits that can be activated when a complementary RNA strand binds with an exposed RNA sequence in the designed circuit. This binding of complementary strands is regular and predictable, with A nucleotides always pairing with U and C always pairing with G.

With all the processing elements of the circuit made using RNA, which can take on an astronomical number of potential sequences, the real power of the newly described method lies in its ability to perform many operations at the same time. This capacity for parallel processing permits faster and more sophisticated computation while making efficient use of the limited resources of the cell.

Logical results

In the new study, logic gates known as AND, OR and NOT were designed. An AND gate produces an output in the cell only when two RNA messages A AND B are present. An OR gate responds to either A OR B, while a NOT gate will block output if a given RNA input is present. Combining these gates can produce complex logic capable of responding to multiple inputs.

Using RNA toehold switches, the researchers produced the first ribocomputing devices capable of four-input AND, six-input OR and a 12-input device able to carry out a complex combination of AND, OR and NOT logic known as disjunctive normal form expression. When the logic gate encounters the correct RNA binding sequences leading to activation, a toehold switch opens and the process of translation to protein takes place. All of these circuit-sensing and output functions can be integrated into the same molecule, making the systems compact and easier to implement in a cell.

The research represents the next phase of ongoing work using the highly versatile RNA toehold switches. In earlier work, Green and his colleagues demonstrated that an inexpensive, paper-based array of RNA toehold switches could act as a highly accurate platform for diagnosing the Zika virus. Detection of viral RNA by the array activated the toehold switches, triggering production of a protein, which registered as a color change on the array.

The basic principle of using RNA-based devices to regulate protein production can be applied to virtually any RNA input, ushering in a new generation of accurate, low-cost diagnostics for a broad range of diseases. The cell-free approach is particularly well suited for emerging threats and during disease outbreaks in the developing world, where medical resources and personnel may be limited.

The computer within

According to Green, the next stage of research will focus on the use of the RNA toehold technology to produce so-called neural networks within living cells — circuits capable of analyzing a range of excitatory and inhibitory inputs, averaging them and producing an output once a particular threshold of activity is reached, much the way a neuron averages incoming signals from other neurons. Ultimately, researchers hope to induce cells to communicate with one another via programmable molecular signals, forming a truly interactive, brain-like network.

“Because we’re using RNA, a universal molecule of life, we know these interactions can also work in other cells, so our method provides a general strategy that could be ported to other organisms,” Green said, alluding to a future in which human cells become fully programmable entities with extensive biological capabilities.

Media contact: Joe Caspermeyer, Biodesign Institute, 480-258-8972, joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu.

Top image: Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is used to create logic circuits capable of performing various computations. In new experiments, ASU Assistant Professor Alex Green and his colleagues have incorporated RNA logic gates into living bacterial cells, which act like tiny computers.

Richard Harth

Science writer , Biodesign Institute at ASU

480-727-0378

 
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2 top-tier researchers with W. P. Carey School of Business appointed as department chairs

July 26, 2017

The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is proud to announce the promotion of two longtime faculty members into leadership roles.

Kevin Corley has been appointed the new chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, and Mohan Gopalakrishnan is the new chair of the Department of Supply Chain Management. Both are dedicated teachers, active researchers in their fields and well-respected by their colleagues. 

“Kevin and Mohan have meant so much to the school and our reputation over the years, and I'm excited to welcome them to their new roles. I know we’ll be able to build on the strong foundation of both departments as the school continues to redefine business education,” said Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School. “I also want to thank the previous chairs of those departments — Trevis Certo and Dale Rogers — for all their contributions.”

Meet the new chairs:

Kevin Corley

Kevin Corley

Having been with the W. P. Carey School of Business since 2005, Corley has experienced the department flourish into one of the top three most research-productive management departments in the world. Corley hopes to maintain that tradition by continuing to strengthen the culture, while also positioning the department to take advantage of the opportunities that come from being part of the dynamic W. P. Carey School. 

To be in a formal leadership role seems natural for Corley.

“I’ve been thinking about leadership for so long as part of my research. I’m excited to put into practice what I’ve been studying and teaching — as well as to learn new things about leading — that I can bring back into my research and teaching,” said Corley. 

Corley’s research examines the processes by which managers and employees organize around their roles and practices, as well as how they make sense of the changes that occur within their organization. Mainly, why do people in organizations experience change the way they do?

“Examining these processes has led me to focus on foundational concepts such as identity, image, identification, culture and learning as I try to gain deeper insights into how organizational change occurs and how people experience that change in their everyday work lives,” said Corley. 

Mohan Gopalakrishnan

Mohan Gopalakrishnan

A renowned researcher and Fulbright Scholar, Gopalakrishnan brings real-world value to his teaching. He has been with the business school since 1998, inspiring both students and his colleagues. As the new chair of the supply chain management department that has been consistently ranked among the top five undergraduate and graduate supply chain programs in the United States, Gopalakrishnan’s vision for the department’s growth aligns with its tagline: “being the world’s supply chain university.”  

“I hope to facilitate that vision using an astute combination of managing program portfolios, faculty research, global research funding, student recruitment and placement and industry partnerships,” Gopalakrishnan said.

Past industry experience, as well as being the director of both the evening and executive MBA programs, have prepared him to serve as department chair.

“These experiences have exposed me to managing stakeholder expectations, time management, budget planning and people management, all of which I hope come in handy as I navigate this new position,” he said.  

Gopalakrishnan’s research explores the social and economic issues in global health-care supply chains. His work also provides insight for international policy on how to improve humanitarian coordination, responsiveness and food distribution. The tech industry is another interest of his, especially examining how technology supply chains build self-improvements into their networks.  

Rebecca Ferriter