Consequences of deterministic and stochastic modeling of a promoter

For an engineered genetic oscillator, deterministic analysis indicates sustained oscillations and stochastic simulations show irregular or absent oscillations. Since the major difference is in the modeling of the promoters, we have performed a detailed analysis of a generic repressible promoter system. Deterministic, stochastic, thermodynamic, and hybrid models were developed for the promoter. The average behavior of the stochastic model converged to the thermodynamic model. The deterministic model is a special case of the thermodynamic model. The hybrid model could lock into the off state. Adding an unrelated background reaction allowed it to exit that state. Increasing the background rate allowed the hybrid model to converge to thermodynamic and stochastic model. Adding a background reaction to the stochastic oscillator simulation noticeably improved its performance.