Constraints on a module's effective sensitivity by the input and readout dynamic range

EDGAR ALTSZYLER; ALEJANDRA VENTURA; ALEJANDRO COLMAN-LERNER; ARIEL CHERNOMORETZ

Albuquerque

Conferencia; 7th qbio conference; 2013

q-bio working group

elaborate appropriate responses. A great deal of work has already been done in order to understand thebehavior of the underlying biochemical reaction networks responsible of these capabilities [1,2]. Under asystems-level perspective, signal sensing, transduction, and information processing mechanisms can beusually analyzed in terms of interacting modules or minimal functional motifs [3,4]. In this context, the non-linearities observed in biochemical modules are key ingredients upon which non-trivial complex signalprocessing capabilities rest. However, even though a module-based description seems powerful (see forinstance [5,6]), the integration of such modules with upstream and downstream components often alters themodule information-processing capabilities, for example through mechanisms like sequestration of sharedcomponents [7,8] or differences in effective response dynamic ranges between consecutive modules [9].Here, we analyze the influence of the later. Specifically, we explore how the dynamic range spanned byupstream and downstream components, and the nonlinearities of a general sigmoidal-shaped module?sresponse function could be tuned to produce effective sensitivities much lower, or even larger, than thesensitivity associated to the original module considered in isolation.