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Resource competition-driven bistability and stochastic switching amplify gene expression noise.
Hanah Goetz1, Rong Zhang1, Xiao Wang1
1School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America.
Plos Computational Biology
|April 23, 2025
Summary
Resource competition amplifies gene expression noise in synthetic circuits by causing bistability and "winner-takes-all" gene expression. Understanding this noise propagation is crucial for designing robust synthetic gene networks.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Systems biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Resource competition is known to affect deterministic synthetic gene circuit behavior.
- Its impact on gene expression noise, however, remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically analyze how resource competition influences noise propagation in a genetic inhibition cascade circuit.
- To elucidate the mechanisms behind noise amplification in synthetic gene networks.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of a genetic inhibition cascade circuit.
- Modeling of gene expression noise under resource competition.
Main Results:
- Resource competition amplifies gene expression noise.
- It induces unexpected bistability and stochastic switching between expression states.
- This leads to a "winner-takes-all" gene expression behavior.
Conclusions:
- Resource competition plays a critical role in shaping noise dynamics and propagation in synthetic gene circuits.
- Emergent bistability due to resource competition is a key factor in noise amplification.
- These findings are important for the design and control of synthetic biological systems.
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