| | |  | | | | Record from Web of Science® | | | | | | |
| Multistability in the lactose utilization network of Escherichia coli |
|
|
| Author(s): Ozbudak EM, Thattai M, Lim HN, Shraiman BI, van Oudenaarden A |
| Source: NATURE Volume: 427 Issue: 6976 Pages: 737-740 Published: FEB 19 2004 |
| Times Cited: 208 References: 30 |
| Abstract: Multistability, the capacity to achieve multiple internal states in response to a single set of external inputs, is the defining characteristic of a switch. Biological switches are essential for the determination of cell fate in multicellular organisms(1), the regulation of cell-cycle oscillations during mitosis(2,3) and the maintenance of epigenetic traits in microbes(4). The multistability of several natural(1-6) and synthetic(7-9) systems has been attributed to positive feedback loops in their regulatory networks(10). However, feedback alone does not guarantee multistability. The phase diagram of a multistable system, a concise description of internal states as key parameters are varied, reveals the conditions required to produce a functional switch(11,12). Here we present the phase diagram of the bistable lactose utilization network of Escherichia coli(13). We use this phase diagram, coupled with a mathematical model of the network, to quantitatively investigate processes such as sugar uptake and transcriptional regulation in vivo. We then show how the hysteretic response of the wildtype system can be converted to an ultrasensitive graded response(14,15). The phase diagram thus serves as a sensitive probe of molecular interactions and as a powerful tool for rational network design. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: van Oudenaarden, A (reprint author), MIT, Dept Phys, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA |
Addresses:
1. MIT, Dept Phys, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
2. Rutgers State Univ, Dept Phys, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
3. Rutgers State Univ, BioMAPS Inst, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA |
| Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, MACMILLAN BUILDING, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON N1 9XW, ENGLAND |
| Subject Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences |
| IDS Number: 775DT |
| ISSN: 0028-0836 |
| DOI: 10.1038/nature02298 |
|
| | | | | | | | | Record from Web of Science® | | | | | | | | | |