Highlights•Predictability and robustness are major challenges for synthetic
biology.•Engineering bacteria requires putting synthetic constructs into growing host …

Predictive biology is the next great chapter in synthetic and systems biology, particularly for
microorganisms. Tasks that once seemed infeasible are increasingly being realized such as …

Cells use feedback regulation to ensure robust growth despite fluctuating demands for
resources and differing environmental conditions. However, the expression of foreign …

Intracellular processes rarely work in isolation but continually interact with the rest of the cell.
In microbes, for example, we now know that gene expression across the whole genome …

Heterologous gene expression can be a significant burden for cells. Here we describe an in
vivo monitor that tracks changes in the capacity of Escherichia coli in real time and can be …

Recent advances in metabolic engineering have demonstrated the potential to exploit
biological chemistry for the synthesis of complex molecules. Much of the progress to date …

Genetic circuits in living cells share transcriptional and translational resources that are
available in limited amounts. This leads to unexpected couplings among seemingly …

Synthetic genetic systems share resources with the host, including machinery for
transcription and translation. Phage RNA polymerases (RNAP s) decouple transcription from …

To perform their computational function, genetic circuits change states through a symphony
of genetic parts that turn regulator expression on and off. Debugging is frustrated by an …

Gene expression is controlled by the joint effect of (i) the global physiological state of the
cell, in particular the activity of the gene expression machinery, and (ii) DNA‐binding …