Studying the cytoskeleton landscape by varying Cell Concentration and Growth.

It is a frontier challenge to engineer bacterial cells that can control their environment using synthetic biology techniques. We are interested in how designer cells can control the cytoskeleton, a composite network of filaments that can control the mechanical properties with stiff microtubules, more flexible actin, and resilient intermediate filaments. We are interested in composite actin-microtubule networks as a model system that is not only mechanically adaptive, but also chemically controllable in its ability to grow, shrink, crosslink, and contract and extend using other crosslinker and motors. As a first step, we are examining how the presence of sessile bacterial cells can alter the network organization and contractile properties. This work is important for future work using designed cells that will be able to control the network through the delivery of proteins that can adaptively change the network. This knowledge is invaluable for harnessing the potential of cytoskeletons in the development of living materials.