Delay-induced transient increase and heterogeneity in gene expression in negatively auto-regulated gene circuits.

ABSTRACT: A generic feature in all intracellular biochemical processes is the time required to complete the whole sequence of reactions to yield any observable quantity--from gene expression to circadian rhythms. This widespread phenomenon points towards the importance of time delay in biological functions. Theoretically time delay is known to be the source of instability, and has been attributed to lead to oscillations or transient dynamics in several biological functions. Negative feedback loops, common in biochemical pathways, have been shown to provide stability and withstand considerable variations and random perturbations of biochemical parameters. The interaction of these two opposing factors--of instability and homeostasis--are features that are widespread in intracellular processes. To test

SUBMITTER: Maithreye R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2494610 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature