When it pays to rush: using pre-steady-state information in cellular signaling

ALEJANDRA C VENTURA

Santiago de Chile

Simposio; Symposium Computational methods in biology and biomedicine; 2016

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Many cell decisions depend on precise measurements of externalligands reversibly bound to receptors. Yeast cells orientin gradients of sex pheromone detecting differences in theamount of ligand-receptor complex. However, yeast can orientin gradients with nearly all receptors occupied. We describea general systems-level mechanism, pre-equilibrium sensingand signaling (PRESS), which overcomes this saturation limit byshifting and expanding the input dynamic range to which cellscan respond. PRESS requires that events downstream of thereceptor be transient and faster than the time required for thereceptor to reach equilibrium binding. Experiments and simulationsshow that PRESS operates in yeast and may help cellsorient in gradients. Many ligand-receptor interactions are slow,suggesting that PRESS is widespread throughout eukaryotes.