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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
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Published on: April 18, 2021
Phenotypic variability of growing cellular populations.
Ting Lu1, Tongye Shen, Matthew R Bennett
1Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Bioengineering, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, and Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Summary
Cellular population variability arises from growth, death rates, and epigenetic changes. Environmental limits can lead to predictable population dynamics, but initial conditions significantly influence transient states.
Area of Science:
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Population Dynamics
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Cellular population diversity is shaped by growth, death rates, and epigenetic factors.
- Epigenetic multistability allows spontaneous phenotype switching within cell populations.
- Understanding population variability is crucial for biological and experimental contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the origins and consequences of cellular population variability.
- To analyze the contributions of intracolony and cross-colony factors to population variance.
- To model and understand how initial conditions and environmental constraints affect population dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Developed a generalized model for relative population variance.
- Classified variance into intracolony and cross-colony components.
- Constructed and analyzed a two-phenotype model system using analytical and numerical methods.
- Examined time-dependent variability in both unbounded and population-limited growth environments.
Main Results:
- Population variability is highly dependent on initial conditions and environmental constraints.
- In unbounded growth, initial conditions strictly govern overall variability.
- In population-limited environments, systems converge to a fixed point, but transient decay is initial condition-dependent and can be prolonged.
- The time scale of variability decay is influenced by intrinsic system time scales.
Conclusions:
- Initial conditions and environmental factors are key drivers of cellular population variability.
- Environmental limitations can lead to predictable population states, but transient dynamics are sensitive to starting conditions.
- The study offers insights into the generation of variability in experimental settings and biological systems.
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