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Thermodynamic uncertainty relation constrains information transmission through cell signaling systems
Shreyansh Verma1, Vishva Saravanan R1, Bhaswar Ghosh1
1Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, India.
Physical Biology
|February 2, 2026
Summary
Biological systems require energy due to entropy production. The thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR) bounds fluctuations, improving cellular information transmission accuracy in yeast signaling pathways under stress.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cellular Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Biological systems operate out of equilibrium, necessitating continuous energy supply for non-equilibrium entropy production.
- Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relation (TUR) defines a lower bound on current fluctuations relative to entropy production rate.
- Fluctuations in biological systems impact signal-to-noise ratio, limiting information transmission accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of TUR on information transmission capacity in cellular signaling systems.
- To analyze the role of transcription factor (TF) dynamics and stochasticity in cellular information processing.
- To elucidate how thermodynamic fluctuations and entropy production affect cellular signaling under stress conditions.
Main Methods:
- Coupled mathematical modeling and machine learning approaches applied to experimental data from yeast.
- Analysis of transcription factor diffusion and activation dynamics within cellular signaling pathways.
- Theoretical modeling based on TUR to understand thermodynamic constraints on information transmission.
Main Results:
- Activation and biased diffusion of TFs towards the nucleus generate entropy production.
- This process amplifies TF currents and reduces fluctuations, enhancing information transmission accuracy.
- TUR bounds were observed to be followed, demonstrating their role in cellular information processing.
Conclusions:
- TUR plays a crucial role in optimizing information transmission accuracy in cellular signaling.
- Entropy production and thermodynamic fluctuations are key mechanisms for cellular information processing.
- The study provides insights into the working principles of TFs and their regulation under stress.
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