Engineering Genetic Circuits

Highlighting modeling, analysis, and design methods for systems biology, this book discusses how to examine experimental data to learn about mathematical models, develop efficient abstraction and simulation methods to analyze these models, and use analytical methods to design new circuits. It reviews basic molecular biology and biochemistry principles, covers several methods for modeling and analyzing genetic circuits, and uses phage lambda as an example throughout. It also explores the emerging area of synthetic biology. iBioSim software, lecture slides, and a password-protected solutions manual are available on the author’s website.

An Introduction to Systems Bioengineering
Takes a Clear and Systematic Engineering Approach to Systems Biology

Focusing on genetic regulatory networks, Engineering Genetic Circuits presents the modeling, analysis, and design methods for systems biology. It discusses how to examine experimental data to learn about mathematical models, develop efficient abstraction and simulation methods to analyze these models, and use analytical methods to guide the design of new circuits.

After reviewing the basic molecular biology and biochemistry principles needed to understand genetic circuits, the book describes modern experimental techniques and methods for discovering genetic circuit models from the data generated by experiments. The next four chapters present state-of-the-art methods for analyzing these genetic circuit models. The final chapter explores how researchers are beginning to use analytical methods to design synthetic genetic circuits.

This text clearly shows how the success of systems biology depends on collaborations between engineers and biologists. From biomolecular observations to mathematical models to circuit design, it provides essential information on genetic circuits and engineering techniques that can be used to study biological systems.