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3 Publications

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    07/21/10 | Droplet freezing, docking, and the exchange of immiscible phase and surfactant around frozen droplets.
    Sgro AE, Chiu DT
    Lab Chip. 07/2010;10(14):1873-7. doi: 10.1039/c001108h

    This paper describes a platform for cooling microfluidic chips so as to freeze aqueous droplets flowing in oil. Using a whole-chip cooling chamber, we can control the ambient temperature surrounding a microfluidic chip and induce cooling and freezing inside the channels. When combined with a droplet generation and droplet docking chip, this platform allows for the facile freezing of droplets immobilized in resistance-based docks. Depending on the design and shape of the docks, the frozen droplets can either be trapped stably in the docks or be released because deformed non-frozen aqueous droplets turn spherical when frozen, and thus can become dislodged from the docks. Additionally, using this chamber and chip combination we are able to exchange immiscible phases and surfactants surrounding the frozen droplets. The materials and methods are inexpensive and easily accessible to microfluidics researchers, making this a simple addition to an existing microfluidic platform.

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    09/01/22 | Leveraging the model-experiment loop: Examples from cellular slime mold chemotaxis.
    Zhu X, Hager ER, Huyan C, Sgro AE
    Exp Cell Res. 09/2022;418(1):113218. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2022.113218

    Interplay between models and experimental data advances discovery and understanding in biology, particularly when models generate predictions that allow well-designed experiments to distinguish between alternative mechanisms. To illustrate how this feedback between models and experiments can lead to key insights into biological mechanisms, we explore three examples from cellular slime mold chemotaxis. These examples include studies that identified chemotaxis as the primary mechanism behind slime mold aggregation, discovered that cells likely measure chemoattractant gradients by sensing concentration differences across cell length, and tested the role of cell-associated chemoattractant degradation in shaping chemotactic fields. Although each study used a different model class appropriate to their hypotheses - qualitative, mathematical, or simulation-based - these examples all highlight the utility of modeling to formalize assumptions and generate testable predictions. A central element of this framework is the iterative use of models and experiments, specifically: matching experimental designs to the models, revising models based on mismatches with experimental data, and validating critical model assumptions and predictions with experiments. We advocate for continued use of this interplay between models and experiments to advance biological discovery.

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    05/07/22 | Microbial models of development: Inspiration for engineering self-assembled synthetic multicellularity.
    Ricci-Tam C, Kuipa S, Kostman MP, Aronson MS, Sgro AE
    Semin Cell Dev Biol. 05/2022:. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.04.014

    While the field of synthetic developmental biology has traditionally focused on the study of the rich developmental processes seen in metazoan systems, an attractive alternate source of inspiration comes from microbial developmental models. Microbes face unique lifestyle challenges when forming emergent multicellular collectives. As a result, the solutions they employ can inspire the design of novel multicellular systems. In this review, we dissect the strategies employed in multicellular development by two model microbial systems: the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum and the biofilm-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Both microbes face similar challenges but often have different solutions, both from metazoan systems and from each other, to create emergent multicellularity. These challenges include assembling and sustaining a critical mass of participating individuals to support development, regulating entry into development, and assigning cell fates. The mechanisms these microbial systems exploit to robustly coordinate development under a wide range of conditions offer inspiration for a new toolbox of solutions to the synthetic development community. Additionally, recreating these phenomena synthetically offers a pathway to understanding the key principles underlying how these behaviors are be coordinated naturally.

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