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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 26: Posters II
BP 26.43: Poster
Donnerstag, 28. Februar 2008, 17:00–19:30, Poster A
On schemes of sequential transcription logic — •Georg Fritz1,2 and Ulrich Gerland1 — 1Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universität zu Köln — 2Department of Physics, LMU München
Many regulatory processes in molecular biology do not merely transform a set of simultaneous input conditions into an output signal, but instead yield a response that depends also on signals received in the past. For instance, such "sequential" regulatory logic is well documented in the development of multicellular organisms, where individual cells condition their phenotypic response not only on the present input signals, but also on the history of signals at the specific location in the tissue. In digital logic circuits, sequential logic elements are typically implemented by arrays of NAND-gates connected by feedback loops and comprise latches, flip-flops, and registers. Here, we explore the design characteristics of sequential regulatory logic in biology, starting with bacterial systems, where the basic molecular mechanisms for regulation are well understood. We previously showed that a specific "data-latch" may be readily implemented by cells through the use of protein heterodimerization [1]. We now use an unbiased in silico evolution approach to study the more general design principles of sequential transcription logic based on existing protein-protein interactions and simple transcriptional regulation.
[1] G. Fritz, N. Buchler, T. Hwa, and U. Gerland, Systems and Synthetic Biology 1, 89-98 (2007)