title: Rate constants rather than biochemical mechanism determine behaviour of genetic clocks.
abstract: Many biological systems contain both positive and negative feedbacks. These are often classified as resonators or integrators. Resonators respond preferentially to oscillating signals of a particular frequency. Integrators, on the other hand, accumulate a response to signals. Computational neuroscientists often refer to neurons showing integrator properties as type I neurons and those showing resonator properties as type II neurons. Guantes & Poyatos have shown that type I or type II behaviour can be seen in genetic clocks. They argue that when negative feedback occurs through transcription regulation and post-translationally, genetic clocks act as integrators and resonators, respectively. Here we show that either behaviour can be seen with either design and in a wide range of genetic clocks. This highlights the importance of parameters rather than biochemical mechanism in determining the system behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Biology Research Group, Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Emery
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: Avraham E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Mayo
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ninfa
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Forger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000235:genetics*; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008959:Models, Neurological