Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 7: Posters: Statistical Physics in Biological Systems
BP 7.21: Poster
Monday, March 14, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3
Tuning a genetic oscillator — Ernesto M. Nicola1, Saul Ares2, and •Luis G. Morelli3,2 — 1IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Campus Universitat Illes Balears, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain — 2Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany — 3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
Self regulatory elements are a fundamental component of cellular control systems. These elements can regulate their own abundance through closed feedback loops. A pure negative feedback loop can result in oscillations on the levels of gene products, while a positive feedback may lead to multi-stability. Recent work has recognized that network motifs combining both positive and negative feedback loops can be very robust oscillators, offering the possibility to tune the frequency of the oscillations without affecting their amplitude. In this contribution we propose a family of simple models that combine positive and negative feedback loops. We perform a detailed study to determine the conditions which ensure tunability. Our analysis of this generic models reveals general principles underlying the tunability of oscillations.