title: Multi-stage regulation, a key to reliable adaptive biochemical pathways.
abstract: A general "multi-stage" regulation model, based on linearly connected regulatory units, is formulated to demonstrate how biochemical pathways may achieve high levels of accuracy. The general mechanism, which is robust to changes in biochemical parameters, such as protein concentration and kinetic rate constants, is incorporated into a mathematical model of the bacterial chemotaxis network and provides a new framework for explaining regulation and adaptiveness in this extensively studied system. Although conventional theories suggest that methylation feedback pathways are responsible for chemotactic regulation, the model, which is deduced from known experimental data, indicates that protein interactions downstream of the bacterial receptor complex, such as CheAs and CheZ, may play a crucial and complementary role.
authors.affiliation: Biomathematics Unit, Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Almogy
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ben-Tal
mesh_terms: D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D007700:Kinetics; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D000072236:Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins; D008745:Methylation; D008962:Models, Theoretical
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000072236:Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins