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Continuous Measurement of Biological Noise in Escherichia Coli Using Time-lapse Microscopy

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Memory improves precision of cell sensing in fluctuating environments.

Gerardo Aquino¹, Luke Tweedy², Doris Heinrich³

¹Department of Life Sciences and Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.

Scientific Reports

|July 16, 2014

Summary

Biological cells use active sensing strategies to precisely detect their chemical environment. Cell memory, especially when dynamically adjusted, significantly enhances sensing precision, even in fluctuating conditions.

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Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics
Biochemical engineering

Background:

Biological cells exhibit remarkable chemical sensing capabilities, often operating near the single-molecule detection limit.
Observed sensing precision exceeds theoretical physical limits, suggesting active cellular mechanisms are at play.
Cellular sensing involves complex biochemical processes and cell-surface receptors.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the impact of cell memory, arising from slow biochemical processes, on the sensing precision of cell-surface receptors.
To investigate how dynamic adjustment of cell memory affects sensing precision across different environmental fluctuation levels.
To explore universal problem-solving strategies shared between cellular sensing and control engineering.

Main Methods:

Derivation of analytical formulas to quantify the effect of cell memory on sensing precision.
Mathematical modeling of sensing mechanisms in fluctuating chemical environments.
Experimental quantification of directional biases in chemotactic Dictyostelium discoideum cells under alternating chemical gradients.

Main Results:

Analytical formulas demonstrate that cell memory significantly improves sensing precision in weakly fluctuating environments.
Dynamic adjustment of cell memory consistently enhances sensing precision, irrespective of environmental fluctuation strength.
Experimental data from Dictyostelium discoideum cells support the theoretical predictions regarding enhanced sensing.

Conclusions:

Cell memory is a crucial factor in enhancing the precision of biological chemical sensing.
Dynamic control over cell memory represents an effective strategy for improving sensing capabilities in diverse environments.
The principles of cell sensing and control engineering reveal convergent strategies in living matter for environmental interaction.