Ingmar Riedel-Kruse is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona in the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Abstract of his lecture: Multicellular systems, from bacterial biofilms to human organs, form spatial patterns and interfaces to achieve complex functionality with implications for various applications [1]. Our ability to rationally engineer such active matter is still limited. My lab recently developed the first synthetic and optogenetic approaches to control cell-cell and cell-surface adhesion for bacterial self-assembly [2] and patterning (‘Biofilm Lithography’) [3]. I will discuss the biophysical characterization of these tools and their applications to investigate cooperative antibiotic responses in biofilms. I will then demonstrate a synthetic 4-bit cell-cell adhesin logic to experimentally program and mathematically model universal twodimensional interface patterns [4]. These interfaces are generated through a swarming adhesion mechanism that enables precise control over interface geometry as well as adhesion-mediated analogs of developmental organizers and morphogen fields. Utilizing tiling and four-color mapping concepts, I present algorithms for creating versatile target patterns. Remarkably, a minimal set of four adhesins suffices to program arbitrary tessellation patterns, implying a low critical threshold for the engineering and evolution of complex multicellular systems. Finally, I will discuss applications for material sciences, health, biochemical synthesis, and green-house gas mitigation.
