Lux Z
This project explores how biological information can be translated into visual form through generative AI.
Vibrio fischeri is a bioluminescent marine bacterium that glows when a population reaches a certain density. Using its genomic data, I developed a computational pipeline that transforms DNA sequences into images and animations generated with Stable Diffusion.
Instead of using biology as a metaphor or visual inspiration, the project treats genomic data as a set of instructions for image generation. Properties of DNA and proteins are translated into parameters that shape colour, brightness, and composition, allowing each gene to generate its own visual identity. Alongside the natural genes, I also introduced a synthetic gene, LuxZ, placing an artificial sequence on equal footing with the biological ones.
Source organism
Species: Vibrio fischeri ES114
Genome: Chromosome 2, NCBI accession CP000021.2
V. fischeri is a bioluminescent bacterium that colonises the light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes). Its lux operon is the canonical model system for quorum sensing — the mechanism by which bacteria coordinate gene expression in response to population density.
Genes
The dataset covers the complete lux operon plus two auxiliary genes: 10 natural genes and 1 synthetic gene created in this project.
| Locus tag | Gene | Biological role |
|---|---|---|
| VF_A0921 | luxA | Luciferase α-subunit — directly produces light |
| VF_A0920 | luxB | Luciferase β-subunit — directly produces light |
| VF_A0923 | luxC | Acyl reductase — builds the aldehyde fuel |
| VF_A0922 | luxD | Acyl transferase — builds the aldehyde fuel |
| VF_A0919 | luxE | Acyl-protein synthetase — builds the aldehyde fuel |
| VF_A0918 | luxG | Flavin reductase — provides FMNH₂ fuel to luciferase |
| VF_A0924 | luxI | Autoinducer synthase — generates the quorum sensing signal |
| VF_A0925 | luxR | Transcription factor — binds AHL and activates the lux operon |
| VF_A0593 | luxT | Regulator (indirect role) |
| VF_A1058 | qsrP | Quorum sensing related (indirect role) |
| — | luxZ | Synthetic hybrid gene — designed in this project |
