title: Synthetic gene network for entraining and amplifying cellular oscillations.
abstract: We present a model for a synthetic gene oscillator and consider the coupling of the oscillator to a periodic process that is intrinsic to the cell. We investigate the synchronization properties of the coupled system, and show how the oscillator can be constructed to yield a significant amplification of cellular oscillations. We reduce the driven oscillator equations to a normal form, and analytically determine the amplification as a function of the strength of the cellular oscillations. The ability to couple naturally occurring genetic oscillations to a synthetically designed network could lead to possible strategies for entraining and/or amplifying oscillations in cellular protein levels.
authors.affiliation: Center for BioDynamics and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasty
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dolnik
authors.forename: Vivi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rottschäfer
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D007763:Lac Operon; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C016649:phage repressor proteins