---
OA_place: publisher
_id: '20470'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Systems design has classically relied on composable systems, in which individual
    subsystems\r\nhave defined inputs, outputs, and interactions with each other;
    however, attempts at\r\ndesigning complex systems in synthetic biology has often
    run in to issues of crosstalk and\r\ninterference, given that these systems must
    function within the context of the host. In nature,\r\nmobile genetic elements
    are systems that have evolved to travel between hosts, and thus\r\nappear to be
    a good candidate with which to evaluate composability. Selecting temperate\r\nphages
    as a model system, I used mathematical modelling to identify sources of information\r\nthat
    temperate phages should respond to. I found that essential proteins of temperate
    phages\r\ncan interfere with potential hosts, indicating limitations to composability.
    I also designed a\r\nlysogeny reporter construct and characterize its behavior
    across various laboratory and\r\nenvironmental strains, finding differences in
    phage lambda lysogens, and potential\r\ninterference from prophages that already
    exist within the environmental strains. Although\r\nthe information gathered is
    not conclusive, it suggests that composability is not a key property\r\nof temperate
    phages, implying that biological systems may not be composable, and that other\r\nsystem
    design principles should be considered when designing synthetic systems."
alternative_title:
- ISTA Thesis
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Bryan
  full_name: Wu, Bryan
  id: 3C521EBA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Wu
citation:
  ama: Wu B. An examination on phages as a naturally composable system. 2025. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470">10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470</a>
  apa: Wu, B. (2025). <i>An examination on phages as a naturally composable system</i>.
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470</a>
  chicago: Wu, Bryan. “An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System.”
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470</a>.
  ieee: B. Wu, “An examination on phages as a naturally composable system,” Institute
    of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
  ista: Wu B. 2025. An examination on phages as a naturally composable system. Institute
    of Science and Technology Austria.
  mla: Wu, Bryan. <i>An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System</i>.
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470">10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470</a>.
  short: B. Wu, An Examination on Phages as a Naturally Composable System, Institute
    of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-10-15T13:30:21Z
date_published: 2025-10-30T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-05-06T08:01:28Z
day: '30'
ddc:
- '579'
degree_awarded: PhD
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: CaGu
doi: 10.15479/AT-ISTA-20470
file:
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  checksum: d32ea83f259f6b0506325cd57b1d44c3
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  creator: brwu
  date_created: 2025-10-21T17:33:27Z
  date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
  embargo_to: open_access
  file_id: '20516'
  file_name: 2025_Wu_Bryan_Thesis.docx
  file_size: 10603235
  relation: source_file
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 53590046fd3244c5550b4022282449d2
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: brwu
  date_created: 2025-10-21T17:33:26Z
  date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
  embargo: 2026-04-30
  file_id: '20517'
  file_name: 2025_Wu_Bryan_Thesis.pdf
  file_size: 6251936
  relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2026-04-30T22:30:02Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: '102'
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2663-337X
publication_status: published
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
status: public
supervisor:
- first_name: Calin C
  full_name: Guet, Calin C
  id: 47F8433E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Guet
  orcid: 0000-0001-6220-2052
title: An examination on phages as a naturally composable system
type: dissertation
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2025'
...