Circuit topology and the evolution of robustness in two-gene circadian oscillators.

ABSTRACT: Many parameters driving the behavior of biochemical circuits vary extensively and are thus not fine-tuned. Therefore, the topology of such circuits (the who-interacts-with-whom) is key to understanding their central properties. I here explore several hundred different topologies of a simple biochemical model of circadian oscillations to ask two questions: Do different circuits differ dramatically in their robustness to parameter change? If so, can a process of gradual molecular evolution find highly robust topologies when starting from less robust topologies? I find that the distribution of robustness among different circuit topologies is highly skewed: Most show low robustness, whereas very few topologies are highly robust. To address the second evolutionary question, I define a topology

SUBMITTER: Wagner A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1183445 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature