repressilator

The repressilator is a synthetic genetic circuit designed to produce oscillating gene expression in bacteria. It involves three genes arranged so that each one represses (inhibits) the next in a circular loop. When one gene is active, it suppresses the next, causing a delay before the third gene turns on, which then suppresses the first gene again. This cycle creates a continuous, rhythmic pattern of gene activity, similar to a biological clock. The repressilator is used as a model to understand natural oscillatory systems and to engineer biological circuits with timed functions.