Characterization of noise in multistable genetic circuits reveals ways to modulate heterogeneity.

ABSTRACT: Random fluctuations in the amount of cellular components like mRNA and protein molecules are inevitable due to the stochastic and discrete nature of biochemical reactions. If large enough, this so-called "cellular noise" can lead to random transitions between the expression states of a multistable genetic circuit. That way, heterogeneity within isogenic populations is created. Our aim is to understand which dynamical features of a simple autoregulatory system determine its intrinsic noise level, and how they can be modified in order to regulate state-transitions. To that end, novel mathematical methods for the state-dependent characterization and prediction of noise in multistable systems are developed. First, we introduce the hybrid LNA, a modified version of the Linear Noise Approximatio

SUBMITTER: Hortsch SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5868838 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature