Cyanobacterial clock, a stable phase oscillator with negligible intercellular coupling.

ABSTRACT: Accuracy in cellular function has to be achieved despite random fluctuations (noise) in the concentrations of different molecular constituents inside and outside the cell. The circadian oscillator in cyanobacteria is an example of resilience to noise. This resilience could be either the consequence of intercellular communication or the intrinsic property of the built-in biochemical network. Here we investigate the intercellular coupling hypothesis. A short theoretical depiction of interacting noisy phase oscillators, confirmed by numerical simulations, allows us to discriminate the effect of coupling from noise. Experimentally, by studying the phase of concurrent populations of different initial phases, we evaluate a very small upper limit of the intercellular coupling strength. In additio

SUBMITTER: Amdaoud M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1855407 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature