Synchronization is an attractive phenomenon found in nature. Complex systems, such as bird flocs, social and ecological networks, and biological timekeepers show coherent behavior across scales. Furthermore, synchronization is critical for our brain function, stability of social interactions, and even the survival of entire ecosystems because it ensures equilibrium in an often challenging environment.

Synchronizing gene expression in complex eukaryotic communities remains a very challenging task for an bioengineer. The PlantDynamics Lab led by Dr. Wabnik introduce a synthetic system inspired by bacteria response to antibiotics model that robustly converts auxin and salicylic acid rhythms into synchronized gene expression across yeast populations dictated by a dynamic lab-on-a-chip (Fig. 1).