Quantifying the Waddington landscape and biological paths for development and differentiation.

ABSTRACT: We developed a theoretical framework to prove the existence and quantify the Waddington landscape as well as chreode-biological paths for development and differentiation. The cells can have states with the higher probability ones giving the different cell types. Different cell types correspond to different basins of attractions of the probability landscape. We study how the cells develop from undifferentiated cells to differentiated cells from landscape perspectives. We quantified the Waddington landscape through construction of underlying probability landscape for cell development. We show the developmental process proceeds as moving from undifferentiated to the differentiated basins of attractions. The barrier height of the basins of attractions correlates with the escape time that deter

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3100956 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature