Open AccessHigh rates of fuel consumption are not required by insulating motifs to suppress retroactivity in biochemical circuits
Author(s) -
Deshpande Abhishek,
Ouldridge Thomas E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
engineering biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2398-6182
DOI - 10.1049/enb.2017.0017
Subject(s) - robustness (evolution) , modularity (biology) , upstream (networking) , electronic circuit , simple (philosophy) , coupling (piping) , computer science , topology (electrical circuits) , neuroscience , engineering , chemistry , biology , electrical engineering , computer network , gene , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , genetics , philosophy , epistemology
Retroactivity arises when the coupling of a molecular network U to a downstream network D results in signal propagation back from D to U . The phenomenon represents a breakdown in modularity of biochemical circuits and hampers the rational design of complex functional networks. Considering simple models of signal‐transduction architectures, the authors demonstrate the strong dependence of retroactivity on the properties of the upstream system, and explore the cost and efficacy of fuel‐consuming insulating motifs that can mitigate retroactive effects. They find that simple insulating motifs can suppress retroactivity at a low fuel cost by coupling only weakly to the upstream system U . However, this design approach reduces the signalling network's robustness to perturbations from leak reactions, and potentially compromises its ability to respond to rapidly varying signals.