The ups and downs of biological oscillators: a comparison of time-delayed negative feedback mechanisms

Many biochemical oscillators are driven by the periodic rise and fall of protein concentrations or activities. A negative feedback loop underlies such oscillations. The feedback can act on different parts of the biochemical network. Here, we mathematically compare time-delay models where the feedback affects production and degradation. We show a mathematical connection between the linear stability of the two models, and derive how both mechanisms impose different constraints on the production and degradation rates that allow oscillations. We show how oscillations are affected by the inclusion of a distributed delay, of double regulation (acting on production and degradation) and of enzymatic degradation.