What is the role of cooperation in synthetic systems? Can a synthetic system be defined as selfish or altruistic? Is it possible to imprint a ‘cooperative marker’ into the genetic code of an organism?
With these questions, Paula Nishijima initiates a dialogue with the Synthetic Biology and Biosystems Control Lab (SB2CL) from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, linking this field to its evolutionary origins but also speculating about its potential political futures.
Similar questions about cooperation and strategic behaviour led political scientist Robert Axelrod to develop a computer tournament, where he invited experts to submit programs that would iteratively play the Prisoner’s Dilemma. After years of research, he demonstrated that, while various strategies were presented, those that leaned towards cooperation were the most efficient.
Images of bacteria interactions observed with a digital microscope
Drawing from Axelrod’s experiment, Paula designed a Synthetic Symbiotic Tournament in collaboration with the laboratory team. Genetic segments from other organisms were edited and transferred into three groups of E. coli bacteria, enabling them to express fluorescent traits from jellyfish and corals. This resulted in three distinct communities: glowing green, red, and orange.
In each round of the tournament, two communities were isolated to coexist in a Petri dish, and their interactions were documented through a digital microscope for two weeks. In an early stage, bacteria seemed to be ‘fighting’ – the borders between them were sharp. In a second moment, the strategy has changed, and they started to share the space, merging with each other in a ‘cooperative’ strategy. The fact that they carry the DNA from different species transforms the tournament into a symbiotic game. The images then were transformed into a series of animations that simulate the interactions throughout the tournament.
Behind the initiative lies an interest in understanding the approach of synthetic biology: the framework from which it conceptualizes itself and the scope of its reach. Since science and art (as well as politics and economics) share the ideological frameworks of their time, there is also an intention to grasp the relationship between biology and cybernetics, particularly the possible tensions between the determinism implied in programming and the complexity and interdependence proposed by biology.
Credits:
Concept and video animation: Paula Nishijima
Scientific collaborators (sb2cLab, UPV):
Alejandro Vignoni
Andrés Arboleda-García
Jesús Picó
Yadira Boada
Electronics and Control Engineer: Harold José Díaz Iza
Sound designer: Ben Tupper
Exhibition text: Merlina Rañi
Documentary: Hormiga Producciones
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This project is funded by the Vice Rectorate of Art, Science, Technology and Society (UPV) thanks to the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.