title: Cell-to-cell diversity in protein levels of a gene driven by a tetracycline inducible promoter.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gene expression in Escherichia coli is regulated by several mechanisms. We measured in single cells the expression level of a single copy gene coding for green fluorescent protein (GFP), integrated into the genome and driven by a tetracycline inducible promoter, for varying induction strengths. Also, we measured the transcriptional activity of a tetracycline inducible promoter controlling the transcription of a RNA with 96 binding sites for MS2-GFP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The distribution of GFP levels in single cells is found to change significantly as induction reaches high levels, causing the Fano factor of the cells' protein levels to increase with mean level, beyond what would be expected from a Poisson-like process of RNA transcription. In agreement, the Fano factor of the cells' number of RNA molecules target for MS2-GFP follows a similar trend. The results provide evidence that the dynamics of the promoter complex formation, namely, the variability in its duration from one transcription event to the next, explains the change in the distribution of expression levels in the cell population with induction strength.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that the open complex formation of the tetracycline inducible promoter, in the regime of strong induction, affects significantly the dynamics of RNA production due to the variability of its duration from one event to the next.
authors.affiliation: Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology, Finland.
authors.forename: Olli-Pekka
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Smolander
authors.forename: Meenakshisundaram
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kandhavelu
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mannerström
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lihavainen
authors.forename: Shanmugapriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalaichelvan
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yli-Harja
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karp
authors.forename: Andre S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D013752:Tetracycline