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Accurate encoding and decoding by single cells: amplitude versus frequency modulation.

Gabriele Micali¹, Gerardo Aquino², David M Richards²

¹Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy.

Plos Computational Biology

|June 2, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cells use two main signaling mechanisms: amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). This study finds AM is generally more accurate, suggesting FM

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Area of Science:

Cellular Biology
Biochemical Signaling
Systems Biology

Background:

Cells respond to external stimuli by regulating protein expression through biochemical signaling pathways.
Two primary internal encoding mechanisms exist: amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the conditions under which cells benefit from using AM versus FM signaling.
To compare the accuracy of continuous (AM) versus bursty (FM) signaling models.

Main Methods:

Developed a mathematical model for single-receptor signaling dynamics.
Extended the model to multiple receptors to simulate AM and FM encoding.
Analyzed signaling accuracy based on model parameters and dynamics.

Main Results:

Bursty signaling (FM) is more accurate than continuous signaling (AM) only under fast dynamic conditions.
For multiple receptors, amplitude modulation (AM) consistently demonstrates higher accuracy than frequency modulation (FM).
The study suggests factors beyond accuracy, like gene coordination or threshold mechanisms, may drive FM usage.

Conclusions:

Amplitude modulation (AM) is generally superior for encoding concentration stimuli due to higher accuracy.
Frequency modulation (FM) might be employed for reasons other than signal fidelity, such as coordinating gene expression.
Understanding the trade-offs between AM and FM is crucial for deciphering cellular communication strategies.