Epigenetic Ratchet: Spontaneous Adaptation via Stochastic Gene Expression.

ABSTRACT: Adaptation to unforeseen environmental changes is one of the most prominent features that characterize the living system. Although signal transduction and gene regulation networks evolved to adapt specific environmental conditions that they frequently experience, it is also reported that bacteria can modify their gene expression patterns to survive a huge variety of environmental conditions even without such pre-designed networks to adapt specically to each environment. Here we propose a general mechanism of cells for such "spontaneous" adaptation, on the basis of stochastic gene expression and epigenetic modication. First, a variety of gene expression states that are marginally stable states are generated by epigenetic modication. Then by taking advantage of stochastic gene expression and

SUBMITTER: Himeoka Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6965613 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature