Quantitative Measurement and Analysis in a Synthetic Pattern Formation Multicellular System

Abstract

Pattern formation has been studied for more than a century in biology. In recent years there are increasing interests in studying it using bacteria and synthetic biology tools to program intercellular communication and cellular response to environment. Quantitative measurement is critical to dissect the interplay between the synthetic gene circuits with underline cellular processes and verify the mechanism determining the pattern formation. Here, we describe simple optical setups for quantitative measurements of the cell density and growth and spatial-temporal dynamic characterization of E. coli pattern formation in soft agar plates.