The informational architecture of the cell

Area of Science:

• Systems Biology
• Network Science
• Information Theory

Background:

• Understanding the informational architecture of biological networks is crucial for distinguishing them from random systems.
• The cell cycle regulation in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) provides a model for studying biological network organization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify informational features that differentiate biological networks from random networks.
• To analyze the informational architecture of the fission yeast cell cycle using a Boolean network model.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of local and global information measures between the fission yeast cell cycle network and random network models (Erdös-Rényi, scale-free).
• Application of information theory concepts to quantify network properties.

Main Results:

• Local information processing and storage patterns distinguish the biological fission yeast network from random networks.
• These distinguishing features are associated with specific control nodes within the cell cycle network.
• Global measures of integrated information ('emergent' processing) did not significantly differ between the biological network and random networks.

Conclusions:

• Local information processing reveals unique characteristics of biological regulatory networks, particularly related to control nodes.
• Global information integration does not appear to be a distinguishing feature when comparing this biological network to random models.
• Findings contribute to understanding the physics underlying biological information processing and network organization.