title: Retroactivity in the Context of Modularly Structured Biomolecular Systems.
abstract: Synthetic biology has intensively promoted the technical implementation of modular strategies in the fabrication of biological devices. Modules are considered as networks of reactions. The behavior displayed by biomolecular systems results from the information processes carried out by the interconnection of the involved modules. However, in natural systems, module wiring is not a free-of-charge process; as a consequence of interconnection, a reactive phenomenon called retroactivity emerges. This phenomenon is characterized by signals that propagate from downstream modules (the modules that receive the incoming signals upon interconnection) to upstream ones (the modules that send the signals upon interconnection). Such retroactivity signals, depending of their strength, may change and sometimes even disrupt the behavior of modular biomolecular systems. Thus, analysis of retroactivity effects in natural biological and biosynthetic systems is crucial to achieve a deeper understanding of how this interconnection between functionally characterized modules takes place and how it impacts the overall behavior of the involved cell. By discussing the modules interconnection in natural and synthetic biomolecular systems, we propose that such systems should be considered as quasi-modular.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Mexico City , Mexico ; Centro de Ciencias de Complejidad (C3), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Mexico City , Mexico.
authors.forename: Libertad
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pantoja-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Control Automático, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN) , Mexico City , Mexico.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Martínez-García
keywords: modularity; regulatory biomolecular networks; retroactivity; signal transduction; synthetic biology; systems biology