ArticleNature communications2024
Measuring the burden of hundreds of BioBricks defines an evolutionary limit on constructability in synthetic biology.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evaluating DNA Function Understanding in Genomic Language Models Using Evolutionarily Implausible Sequences.ACS synthetic biology · 2026Article
- Burden-aware feedback control of microbial consortia.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Refactored genetic parts for modular assembly of the E. coli MccV type I secretion system used to screen class II microcin candidates from plant-associated bacteria.BMC biotechnology · 2026Article
- Genetic controllers for enhancing the evolutionary longevity of synthetic gene circuits in bacteria.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Boosting Dibenzothiophene Biodesulfurization Through Implantation of a Refactored DBT Pathway in a Tailored Pseudomonas putida Chassis.Microbial biotechnology · 2025Article
- Why cellular computations challenge our design principles.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2025Review
- Survival and spread of engineeredApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Codon usage modulates the relationship between the burden and yield of protein overexpression.Journal of biological engineering · 2025Article
- Model-guided gene circuit design for engineering genetically stable cell populations in diverse applications.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Degradation bottlenecks and resource competition in transiently and stably engineered mammalian cells.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Energy Aware Technology Mapping of Genetic Logic Circuits.ACS synthetic biology · 2024Article
- Energy Aware Technology Mapping of Genetic Logic Circuits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- CryptKeeper: a negative design tool for reducing unintentional gene expression in bacteria.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Measuring the burden of hundreds of BioBricks defines an evolutionary limit on constructability in synthetic biology.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Advancing microbiota therapeutics: the role of synthetic biology in engineering microbial communities for precision medicine.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Review
- CryptKeeper: a negative design tool for reducing unintentional gene expression in bacteria.Synthetic biology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
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9 authors.
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Abstract
Engineered DNA will slow the growth of a host cell if it redirects limiting resources or otherwise interferes with homeostasis. Escape mutants that alleviate this burden can rapidly evolve and take over cell populations, making genetic engineering less reliable and predictable. Synthetic biologists often use genetic parts encoded on plasmids, but their burden is rarely characterized. We measured how 301 BioBrick plasmids affected Escherichia coli growth and found that 59 (19.6%) were burdensome, primarily because they depleted the limited gene expression resources of host cells. Overall, no BioBricks reduced the growth rate of E. coli by >45%, which agreed with a population genetic model that predicts such plasmids should be unclonable. We made this model available online for education ( https://barricklab.org/burden-model ) and added our burden measurements to the iGEM Registry. Our results establish a fundamental limit on what DNA constructs and genetic modifications can be successfully engineered into cells.
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