Pattern formation and bistability in a synthetic intercellular genetic toggle

Differentiation within multicellular organisms is a complex process that helps to establish spatial patterning and tissue formation within the body. Often, the differentiation of cells is governed by morphogens and intercellular signaling molecules that guide the fate of each cell, frequently using toggle-like regulatory components. Synthetic biologists have long sought to recapitulate patterned differentiation with engineered cellular communities and various methods for differentiating bacteria have been invented. Here, we couple a synthetic co-repressive toggle switch with intercellular signaling pathways to create a "quorum-sensing toggle." We show that this circuit not only exhibits population-wide bistability in a well-mixed liquid environment, but also generates patterns of differentiation in colonies grown on agar containing an externally supplied morphogen. If coupled to other metabolic processes, circuits such as the one described here would allow for the engineering of spatially patterned, differentiated bacteria for use in biomaterials and bioelectronics.