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Optovolution: Teaching Proteins to Think Like Computers (EP. 31)

Optovolution: Teaching Proteins to Think Like Computers (EP. 31)

From First Principles vor 6 Monaten

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55:31

Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna
Choudhary, this episode is a deep dive into a new
synthetic-biology breakthrough out of EPFL:
OptoEvolution. The big idea is simple but
powerful — traditional directed evolution is great at making
proteins that are always “on,” but biology is full of proteins
that need to switch states, respond to stimuli,
and behave more like logic gates than static tools. This paper
takes directed evolution and couples it to light
and the cell cycle, creating a new way to evolve
dynamic proteins that can toggle, compute, and respond with far
more control.

Summary

Why directed evolution needed an upgrade —
classic methods select for proteins with continuous function,
not proteins that toggle between active and inactive states.

OptoEvolution — using light as a control
signal and the cell cycle as a built-in oscillator to evolve
proteins that must turn on and off to survive.

Color-multiplexed biology — engineering
proteins to respond to different wavelengths of light, opening
the door to finer control of gene expression.

Single-protein logic gates — proof-of-concept
AND-gate behavior inside a single protein, hinting at a future
where biology can be programmed with much more software-like
precision.

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Show Notes

OptoEvolution / dynamic protein control (Cell)