Efficient search, mapping, and optimization of multi-protein genetic systems in diverse bacteria.

Developing predictive models of multi-protein genetic systems to understand and optimize their behavior remains a combinatorial challenge, particularly when measurement throughput is limited. We developed a computational approach to build predictive models and identify optimal sequences and expression levels, while circumventing combinatorial explosion. Maximally informative genetic system variants were first designed by the RBS Library Calculator, an algorithm to design sequences for efficiently searching a multi-protein expression space across a > 10,000-fold range with tailored search parameters and well-predicted translation rates.

Repulsive interactions shape the morphologies and functional arrangement of zebrafish peripheral sensory arbors.

Background: Trigeminal sensory neurons detect thermal and mechanical stimuli in the skin through their elaborately arborized peripheral axons. We investigated the developmental mechanisms that determine the size and shape of individual trigeminal arbors in zebrafish and analyzed how these interactions affect the functional organization of the peripheral sensory system.

Results: Time-lapse imaging indicated that direct repulsion between growing axons restricts arbor territories.