Root of Arabidopsis thaliana with green fluorescent protein decorating cell membrane and red fluorescent protein marking nuclei. Credit: Fernan Federici from the Haseloff lab
Cambridge researchers have developed a new technique for measuring and mapping gene and cell activity through fluorescence in living plant tissue. Techniques such as the one we have developed will help us to discover more about the thrilling complexities of life at this level." - —Dr Jim Haseloff A new technique using fluorescence to automatically measure and map cellular activity in living plant tissue will contribute to better computer models that are at the heart of synthetic biology, the attempts to engineer living systems. The team at the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences, led by Jim Haseloff, have been working to uncover the mysteries of biological systems in certain plants - characterised by the highly complex genetic and cellular networks which are locked in a vast network of interactions - resulting in self-repair and reproduction in the organism. These evolved biological systems are capable of creating structures of a hugely complex nature, far more sophisticated than the most advanced man-made materials - which the plants do in a renewable and, if it could be harnessed, a potentially very cheap way. By creating new techniques allowing ever more detailed study of the cellular activity of plants, scientists believe it may be possible to reprogram living systems - which has given rise to an emerging field known as Synthetic Biology, which applies engineering principles to the building blocks of organic life. "Synthetic Biology is based on the use of reusable components and numerical models - for the design of biological circuits, in a way that has become routine in other fields of engineering," says Haseloff.
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