Optovolution links a protein's behavior to the recurring requirements of a dividing yeast cell. If the protein switches appropriately, the engineered cell can progress through its cycle and reproduce; variants that fail to switch are selected against. The hosts use coupled oscillators as an analogy for connecting an external light pattern to this biological rhythm.
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12:55evolution which is this new way that this paper has figured out how to use directed evolution. This idea of inlab evolution but now to create dynamic proteins not just proteins that are remaining on but can now toggle between an onoff switch like normal proteins. Okay. The physics that underlies the core principle is from coupled oscillators. Okay. This is something that we learn about in undergrad physics. You've got two oscillators that are connected by some kind of mechanism. >> Mhm. >> Over here we see just two masses on a spring. And you can see in this case the energy from one is getting transferred to the energy of the other. And so one of them oscillates and then the other
13:36one remains stationary. And then when the other one oscillates the first one remains stationary. >> The idea >> is that if I were to apply this to my protein >> challenge, right? I want to create a protein that can oscillate between an on and an off state. So what if I can tie its performance to a fundamental oscillator of life? >> Okay, >> which is the cell cycle. >> Okay, >> the reproduction cycle of the cell, right? Because the cell has to grow, then it has to split and then it has to grow and then it has to split and it has to grow and it has to split. So if I could somehow couple the evolution of
14:16the protein in interest with that oscillator >> Mhm. >> such that it needs to oscillate in order to really talk to this fundamental oscillator of the cell cycle then perhaps I can optimize for proteins that can be dynamic rather than only proteins that can be on and off. I want to ask a quick question just to help me understand when you say oscillate >> uh can you opine on that a little bit in terms of what what exactly you mean by oscillate inext. >> So in in in physics when we talk about oscillate we mean that it moves from two states in some type of way. It doesn't
14:56have to be continuous. It doesn't have to be discreet. For example simplest oscillator would be a pendulum. It's going to the left, then it's going to the right, then it's going to the left, then it's going to the right. That's an oscillator. Um, a mass on a spring, it's going up, and then it's going down, it's going up, and then it's going down. Um, a ball on a hill, >> a ball in a valley, it's going to the left, then it's going to the right, then it's going to the left, then it's going to the right. In physics, actually, it turns out everything is a simple harmonic oscillator in that sense.
Molecular BiologyProtein EngineeringSynthetic BiologyBioengineering