Universität zu Köln

Bhogale, Prasanna M., Sorg, Robin A., Veening, Jan-Willem ORCID: 0000-0002-3162-6634 and Berg, Johannes (2014). What makes the lac-pathway switch: identifying the fluctuations that trigger phenotype switching in gene regulatory systems. Nucleic Acids Res., 42 (18). S. 11321 - 11329. OXFORD: OXFORD UNIV PRESS. ISSN 1362-4962

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Abstract

Multistable gene regulatory systems sustain different levels of gene expression under identical external conditions. Such multistability is used to encode phenotypic states in processes including nutrient uptake and persistence in bacteria, fate selection in viral infection, cell-cycle control and development. Stochastic switching between different phenotypes can occur as the result of random fluctuations in molecular copy numbers of mRNA and proteins arising in transcription, translation, transport and binding. However, which component of a pathway triggers such a transition is generally not known. By linking single-cell experiments on the lactose-uptake pathway in E. coli to molecular simulations, we devise a general method to pinpoint the particular fluctuation driving phenotype switching and apply this method to the transition between the uninduced and induced states of the lac-genes. We find that the transition to the induced state is not caused only by the single event of lac-repressor unbinding, but depends crucially on the time period over which the repressor remains unbound from the lac-operon. We confirm this notion in strains with a high expression level of the lac-repressor (leading to shorter periods over which the lac-operon remains unbound), which show a reduced switching rate. Our techniques apply to multistable gene regulatory systems in general and allow to identify the molecular mechanisms behind stochastic transitions in gene regulatory circuits.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Bhogale, Prasanna M. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Sorg, Robin A. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Veening, Jan-Willem UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-3162-6634 UNSPECIFIED Berg, Johannes UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-425786
DOI:	10.1093/nar/gku839
Journal or Publication Title:	Nucleic Acids Res.
Volume:	42
Number:	18
Page Range:	S. 11321 - 11329
Date:	2014
Publisher:	OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Place of Publication:	OXFORD
ISSN:	1362-4962
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences > Department of Physics > Institut für Biologische Physik
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language REPRESSOR-OPERATOR INTERACTION; ESCHERICHIA-COLI; BACILLUS-SUBTILIS; SINGLE-CELL; EXPRESSION; NOISE; FATE; MECHANISMS; STOCHASTICITY; STABILITY Multiple languages Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/42578