Control of spatio-temporal patterning via cell growth in a multicellular synthetic gene circuit.

A major goal in synthetic development is to build gene regulatory circuits that control patterning. In natural development, an interplay between mechanical and chemical communication shapes the dynamics of multicellular gene regulatory circuits. For synthetic circuits, how non-genetic properties of the growth environment impact circuit behavior remains poorly explored.

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Distinct Patterns of Gene Expression Conservation through Vertebrate Embryogenesis.

Despite life's diversity, studies of variation often remind us of our shared evolutionary past. Abundant genome sequencing and analyses of gene regulatory networks illustrate that genes and entire pathways are conserved, reused, and elaborated in the evolution of diversity. Predating these discoveries, 19th-century embryologists observed that though morphology at birth varies tremendously, certain stages of vertebrate embryogenesis appear remarkably similar across vertebrates.