Highly Reversible Tunable Thermal-repressible Split-T7 RNA polymerases (Thermal-T7RNAPs) for dynamic gene regulation

Abstract

Temperature is a physical cue that is easy to apply, allowing cellular behaviors to be controlled in a contactless and dynamic manner via heat-inducible/repressible systems. However, existing heat-repressible systems are limited and rely on thermal sensitive mRNA or transcription factors which function at low temperatures, lack tunability, suffer delays or overly-complex. To provide an alternative mode of thermal regulation, we developed a library of compact, reversible and tunable thermal-repressible split-T7 RNA polymerase systems (Thermal-T7RNAPs) which fuses temperature-sensitive domains of Tlpa protein with split-T7RNAP to enable direct thermal control of the T7RNAP activity between 30 - 42 {degrees}C. We generated a large mutant library with varying thermal performances via automated screening framework to extend temperature tunability. Lastly, using the mutants, novel thermal logic circuitry was implemented to regulate cell growth and achieve active thermal control of the cell proportions within co-cultures. Overall, this technology expands avenues for thermal control in biotechnology applications.