Related Experiment Videos
Noise resistance in the spindle assembly checkpoint.
Andreas Doncic1, Eshel Ben-Jacob, Naama Barkai
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Molecular Systems Biology
|June 2, 2006
Summary
Cellular noise from fluctuating protein levels is managed by the spindle assembly checkpoint. This checkpoint effectively buffers variations in Cdc20 levels, crucial for cell cycle control.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Systems Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Genetically identical cells exhibit inherent variability in protein expression levels.
- Stochastic fluctuations in protein abundance pose challenges for cellular information processing and function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spindle assembly checkpoint's ability to buffer temporal fluctuations in Cdc20 protein levels.
- To understand how cellular mechanisms cope with noise in gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling was employed to simulate and analyze the spindle assembly checkpoint's response to varying Cdc20 production rates.
- The study compared the buffering capacity of sequestering-based inhibition versus degradation-based inhibition of Cdc20.
Main Results:
- The spindle assembly checkpoint demonstrates a significant capacity to buffer fluctuations in Cdc20 production rates.
- Sequestering-based inhibition of Cdc20 is more effective in buffering protein level noise compared to degradation-based inhibition.
Conclusions:
- The spindle assembly checkpoint utilizes sequestering mechanisms to effectively manage noise in Cdc20 levels.
- Biological network design is constrained by the necessity to overcome inherent noise in gene expression.