Masters Applied Projects

Project 29

Ribosome Allocation between Host and Synthetic Genes Explains Burden-Caused Growth Rate Decrease

Student: Shan Zhu

Mentors: Dr. Xiao Wang – SBHSE
Dr. Xiaojun Tian – SBHSE
Dr. Rosalind Sadleir – SBHSE

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/4826067673

Time: 10am – 2pm

Abstract

Heterologous gene expression usually leads to an undesirable burden that cells are not adapted for. In bacterial cells, the introduction of heterologous gene expression results in the reallocation of cellular resources, such as the transcriptional and translational machineries, to both endogenous and synthetic genes, and therefore impairing regular cell growth. Although previous research explored the correlation between cell growth and heterologous gene expression, the exact mechanism with respect to ribosome allocation in various burden levels remains unclear. In this study, we investigate and quantify how heterologous gene expression affects cell growth while also propose a detailed mechanism regarding ribosome distribution in burdened cells. Particularly, by combining the experimental data with the mathematical model, we provide a comprehensive explanation of the correlation between cell growth and gene expression, as well as develop a mathematical tool for burden quantification during heterologous gene expression.