Control theory articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gene expression is inherently dynamic, due to complex regulation and stochastic biochemical events. Here the authors train a deep neural network to predict and dynamically control gene expression in thousands of individual bacteria in real-time which they then apply to control antibiotic resistance and study single-cell survival dynamics.

    • Jean-Baptiste Lugagne
    • , Caroline M. Blassick
    •  & Mary J. Dunlop

  • Article
    | Open Access

    At the molecular level, the evolution of life is driven by the generation and diversification of adaptation mechanisms. Here Araujo and Liotta identify definitive and universal structural requirements for adaptation via intermolecular interactions.

    • Robyn P. Araujo
    •  & Lance A. Liotta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heterologous gene activation causes non-physiological burden on cellular resources that cells are unable to adjust to. Here the authors present a tunable, modular, and portable feedforward controller that allows dynamic modulation of a genes expression to possibly high-levels without substantially affecting growth rate.

    • Carlos Barajas
    • , Hsin-Ho Huang
    •  & Domitilla Del Vecchio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Layered feedback is an optimization strategy in feedback control designs widely used in engineering. Here, combining simulation and experimentation, the authors apply layered control - a powerful optimization strategy in engineering - to synthetic biomolecular networks in living bacteria to show layered control overcomes performance trade-offs in biology.

    • Chelsea Y. Hu
    •  & Richard M. Murray

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Practical implementation of genetic circuits is difficult due to low predictability and time-intensive troubleshooting. Here the authors present Cyberloop, which interfaces a computer with single cells to enable cell-in-the-loop testing and optimization of circuit designs before they are built.

    • Sant Kumar
    • , Marc Rullan
    •  & Mustafa Khammash

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Boolean networks allow a simplified representation of interactions. Here, the authors systematically analyze regulation in dozens of biological Boolean networks, finding mathematical regularities that suggest biological systems could be controlled through a relatively small number of components.

    • Enrico Borriello
    •  & Bryan C. Daniels

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CRISPRi allows for the simultaneous control of many genes, however the sgRNAs compete for binding to dCas9. Here the authors design a dCas9 concentration regulator to allow independent regulation of multiple genes.

    • Hsin-Ho Huang
    • , Massimo Bellato
    •  & Domitilla Del Vecchio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Feedback mechanisms for synthetic gene circuits are necessary to provide robustness to external perturbations. Here the authors validate a biomolecular controller based on a sigma and anti-sigma factor to achieve stable gene expression in the face of external disturbances in an in vitro synthetic gene circuit.

    • Deepak K. Agrawal
    • , Ryan Marshall
    •  & Eduardo D Sontag

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Linear controllability theories have stimulated research on control of complex networks. Here the authors investigate the concordance between linear and nonlinear approaches in ranking the importance of nodes in nonlinear networks, and conclude that linear controllability may not be applicable.

    • Junjie Jiang
    •  & Ying-Cheng Lai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms that accommodate variable external dependencies in evolution are not clear. Here, the authors show that switches between external and internal metabolic controls of carotenoid-producing networks in birds are linked to shifts in evolutionary rates, with internalization of control resulting in bursts of evolutionary diversification.

    • Alexander V. Badyaev
    • , Alexander B. Posner
    •  & Dawn M. Higginson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling microbial communities could help restore ecosystems and maintain healthy microbiota. Here, the authors introduce the notion of structural accessibility and develop a framework to identify minimal sets of driver species, manipulation of which could allow control of a microbial community.

    • Marco Tulio Angulo
    • , Claude H. Moog
    •  & Yang-Yu Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cybergenetics aims to monitor and regulate cellular processes in real-time using computer monitoring and feedback of biological readouts. Here the authors use a feedback loop and periodic forcing to maintain cells with a bistable synthetic circuit near its unstable state.

    • Jean-Baptiste Lugagne
    • , Sebastián Sosa Carrillo
    •  & Pascal Hersen

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