Research

Dynamic Protocellular Systems

We aim to build synthetic cellular systems with features of reactions, compartments and communication which can sustain out-of-equilibrium behaviour.

The Tang Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory that combines bottom-up synthetic biology, biochemistry and biophysics to build minimal synthetic cellular systems. We design and construct synthetic cells as:

a route towards artificial cell synthesis;
test-tube experiments to address questions in the origin of cellular life;
minimal models to unravel biological mechanism
to engineer a Life 2.0

Schematic of PEN DNA reactions.(b)encapsulation of PEN DNA reactions.

Role of compartmentalisation in tuning and regulating biochemistry

A key property of the cell is its ability to compartmentalize chemical reactions. This allows the cell to control different chemical and physical environments. We use membrane free and membrane bound synthetic cellular chassis to integrate enzymology with compartmentalisation. Our studies aim to define the role of compartmentalisation in tuning chemical and biochemical reactions.

Cartoon showing reversible pH-responsive coacervate formation in lipid vesicles

Dynamic Systems

In nature, an out of equilibrium state is maintained by taking energy from the environment and exploiting biochemical network complexity. As minimal synthetic cells lack this complexity, we seek new strategies to achieve and sustain out-of-equilibrium behaviour within synthetic cellular systems. In addition, we explore the role of compartmentalisation on sustaining out-of equilibrium dynamics. In this area, we plan to define the minimal number of components required to sustain dynamic behaviour within synthetic cellular systems.

Communicating networks to regulate robustness

Biological tissues are inherently variable in their cellular compositions. In light of this variability, cells and tissues must co-ordinate their functions to provide robust outcomes to the system. This is an important feature within synthetic cellular systems to ensure robust outcomes despite intrinsic variability. We develop new tools and methods to reduce variability in synthetic cellular systems through engineering approaches. One strategy is to exploit microfluidics to reduce concentration and size variability within synthetic cellular systems. Another strategy relies on exploiting communication by diffusion of molecules to co-ordinate behaviours within populations of synthetic cells.

Tools and Methods

Synthetic cell toolkit
Cell free expression
Quantitative experimental data supported by modelling
Microfluidics
Gene circuits
Optical light microscopy
Molecular biology
Biochemistry
Mass Spectroscopy
Coacervates
Liposomes
Proteinosomes
Enzymology