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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

An Ecdysone Receptor-based Singular Gene Switch for Deliberate Expression of Transgene with Robustness, Reversibility, and Negligible Leakiness
Published on: May 7, 2018
Self-regulating gene: an exact solution
J E M Hornos1, D Schultz, G C P Innocentini
1Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0374, USA.
Abstract:
An exact steady-state solution of the stochastic equations governing the behavior of a gene regulated by a self-generated proteomic atmosphere is presented. The solutions depend on an adiabaticity parameter measuring the relative rate of DNA-protein unbinding and protein degradation. The steady-state solution reveals deviations from the commonly used Ackers et al approximation based on the equilibrium law of mass action, allowing anticooperative behavior in the "nonadiabatic" limit of slow binding and unbinding rates. Noise from binding and unbinding events dominates the shot noise of protein synthesis and degradation up to quite high values of the adiabaticity parameter.
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