Related papers: Non-equilibrium, stochastic model for tRNA binding…
Gene transcription is a stochastic process that involves thousands of reactions. The first set of these reactions, which happen near a gene promoter, are considered to be the most important in the context of stochastic noise. The most…
Many unicellular organisms allocate their key proteins asymmetrically between the mother and daughter cells, especially in a stressed environment. A recent theoretical model is able to predict when the asymmetry in segregation of key…
The ribosome flow model with input and output (RFMIO) is a deterministic dynamical system that has been used to study the flow of ribosomes during mRNA translation. The RFMIO and its variants encapsulate important properties that are…
Knotted proteins, when forced through the pores, can get stuck if the knots in their backbone tighten under force. Alternatively, the knot can slide off the chain, making translocation possible. We construct a simple energy landscape model…
RNA, whose functionality is largely determined by its structure, plays an important role in many biological activities. The prediction of pairwise structural proximity between each nucleotide of an RNA sequence can characterize the…
Transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of gene expression. Based on the classical scenario in which the TF search process switches between one-dimensional motion along the DNA molecule and free Brownian motion in the nucleus, we…
Cells use genetic switches to shift between alternate gene expression states, e.g., to adapt to new environments or to follow a developmental pathway. Here, we study the dynamics of switching in a generic-feedback on/off switch. Unlike…
All proteins in living organisms are produced in ribosomes that facilitate the translation of genetic information into a sequence of amino acid residues. During translation, the ribosome undergoes initiation, elongation, termination, and…
Small, non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) play important roles as genetic regulators in prokaryotes. sRNAs act post-transcriptionally via complementary pairing with target mRNAs to regulate protein expression. We use a quantitative approach to compare…
We present a novel formulation for biochemical reaction networks in the context of signal transduction. The model consists of input-output transfer functions, which are derived from differential equations, using stable equilibria. We select…
Translation is a key step in the synthesis of proteins. Accordingly, cells have evolved an intricate array of control mechanisms to regulate this process. By constructing a multi-component mathematical framework for translation we uncover…
We examine stochastic processes that are used to model nonequilibrium processes (e.g, pulling RNA or dragging colloids) and so deliberately violate detailed balance. We argue that by combining an information-theoretic measure of…
Non-coding RNA are functional molecules that are not translated into proteins. Their function comes as important regulators of biological function. Because they are not translated, they need not be as stable as other types of RNA. The TKF91…
Gene expression is controlled primarily by interactions between transcription factor proteins (TFs) and the regulatory DNA sequence, a process that can be captured well by thermodynamic models of regulation. These models, however, neglect…
Inferring dynamical models from low-resolution temporal data continues to be a significant challenge in biophysics, especially within transcriptomics, where separating molecular programs from noise remains an important open problem. We…
The intrinsic stochasticity of gene expression can lead to large variability of protein levels across a population of cells. Variability (or noise) in protein distributions can be modulated by cellular mechanisms of gene regulation; in…
The ability to accurately model the fitness landscape of protein sequences is critical to a wide range of applications, from quantifying the effects of human variants on disease likelihood, to predicting immune-escape mutations in viruses…
Even under constant external conditions, the expression levels of genes fluctuate. Much emphasis has been placed on the components of this noise that are due to randomness in transcription and translation; here we analyze the role of noise…
The eukaryotic protein synthesis process entails intricate stages governed by diverse mechanisms to tightly regulate translation. Translational regulation during stress is pivotal for maintaining cellular homeostasis, ensuring the accurate…
Evolution of gene regulation is crucial for our understanding of the phenotypic differences between species, populations and individuals. Sequence-specific binding of transcription factors to the regulatory regions on the DNA is a key…