ﻻ يوجد ملخص باللغة العربية
Recent experiments showed that multiple copies of the molecular machine RNA polymerase (RNAP) can efficiently synthesize mRNA collectively in the active state of the promoter. However, environmentally-induced promoter repression results in long-distance antagonistic interactions that drastically reduce the speed of RNAPs and cause a quick arrest of mRNA synthesis. The mechanism underlying this transition between cooperative and antagonistic dynamics remains poorly understood. In this Letter, we introduce a continuum deterministic model for the translocation of RNAPs, where the speed of an RNAP is coupled to the local DNA supercoiling as well as the density of RNAPs on the gene. We assume that torsional stress experienced by individual RNAPs is exacerbated by high RNAP density on the gene and that transcription factors act as physical barriers to the diffusion of DNA supercoils. We show that this minimal model exhibits two transcription modes mediated by the torsional stress: a fluid mode when the promoter is active and a torsionally stressed mode when the promoter is repressed, in quantitative agreement with experimentally observed dynamics of co-transcribing RNAPs. Our work provides an important step towards understanding the collective dynamics of molecular machines involved in gene expression.
We assess the impact of cell cycle noise on gene circuit dynamics. For bistable genetic switches and excitable circuits, we find that transitions between metastable states most likely occur just after cell division and that this concentration effect
We study theoretically the effects of confinement on active polar gels such as the actin network of eukaryotic cells. Using generalized hydrodynamics equations derived for active gels, we predict, in the case of quasi one-dimensional geometry, a spon
The detection of sound begins when energy derived from acoustic stimuli deflects the hair bundles atop hair cells. As hair bundles move, the viscous friction between stereocilia and the surrounding liquid poses a fundamental challenge to the ears hig
Although accumulation of molecular damage is suggested to be an important molecular mechanism of aging, a quantitative link between the dynamics of damage accumulation and mortality of species has so far remained elusive. To address this question, we
Gene-gene interactions have long been recognized to be fundamentally important to understand genetic causes of complex disease traits. At present, identifying gene-gene interactions from genome-wide case-control studies is computationally and methodo