Engineered Bacteria To Display Stochastic Turing Patterns

How did the leopard get its spots, giraffe got its coat patterns and zebra get its stripes? Humankind has been grappled with these questions for a long time. In recent times, we have looked at mathematical models and genomic science to find how these patterns form on living tissues.

What are classic turing patterns?

Turing patterns can be spots, stripes or spirals that arise naturally in a species. In 1952, Alan Turing, a British mathematician, computer scientist and theoretical biologist proposed a mechanism that these patterns form due to some kind of instability. But at that time biology had not evolved. So, his theory holds limitations.  

Today, bioengineers have special interest in this mechanism of pattern formation in living beings. They have been trying to develop such living tissue in the labs for a long time. These engineered tissues will have countless applications.

Researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Applied Physics Laboratory, John Hopkins University and MIT conducted a study where they engineered bacteria. These bacteria when incubated and grown exhibits stochastic turing pattern. Their experiment with a lawn of synthesized bacteria led to an irregular pattern of red polka dots being fluorescence on a field of green.

This sheds new light on the studies in the field and pave way for future work in the field of biomedical engineering.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180621121857.htm