Separating intrinsic from extrinsic fluctuations in dynamic biological systems.

ABSTRACT: From molecules in cells to organisms in ecosystems, biological populations fluctuate due to the intrinsic randomness of individual events and the extrinsic influence of changing environments. The combined effect is often too complex for effective analysis, and many studies therefore make simplifying assumptions, for example ignoring either intrinsic or extrinsic effects to reduce the number of model assumptions. Here we mathematically demonstrate how two identical and independent reporters embedded in a shared fluctuating environment can be used to identify intrinsic and extrinsic noise terms, but also how these contributions are qualitatively and quantitatively different from what has been previously reported. Furthermore, we show for which classes of biological systems the noise contribu

SUBMITTER: Hilfinger A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3141918 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature