Dynamics and intrinsic statistical fluctuations of a gene switch.
We studied a simple gene regulatory network, the toggle switch. Specifically, we examined the means and statistical fluctuations in numbers of proteins. We found that when omega, the ratio of rates of protein-gene unbinding to protein degradation, was between approximately 10(-3) and approximately 10, the fluctuations were much larger than those we would have expected from Poisson statistics. In addition, we examined characteristic time values for system relaxation and found both that they increased with omega and that they have significant phase transition effects, with a secondary time scale appearing near the boundary between bistable and other phases. Last, we discuss the bistability of the toggle switch.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11790, USA.
David
D
Lepzelter
Keun-Young
KY
Kim
Jin
J
Wang
D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008954:Models, Biological; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D011506:Proteins