Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems
All living systems display remarkable spatial and temporal precision, despite operating in intrinsically fluctuating environments. It is even more surprising given that biological phenomena are regulated by multiple chemical reactions that are also random. Although the underlying molecular mechanism...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Biophysical Reports |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667074725000023 |
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| author | Anupam Mondal Anatoly B. Kolomeisky |
| author_facet | Anupam Mondal Anatoly B. Kolomeisky |
| author_sort | Anupam Mondal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | All living systems display remarkable spatial and temporal precision, despite operating in intrinsically fluctuating environments. It is even more surprising given that biological phenomena are regulated by multiple chemical reactions that are also random. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of surprisingly high precision in biology remain not well understood, a novel theoretical picture that relies on the coupling of relevant stochastic processes has recently been proposed and applied to explain different phenomena. To illustrate this approach, in this review, we discuss two systems that exhibit precision control: spatial regulation in bacterial cell size and temporal regulation in the timing of cell lysis by λ bacteriophage. In cell-size regulation, it is argued that a balance between stochastic cell growth and cell division processes leads to a narrow distribution of cell sizes. In cell lysis, it is shown that precise timing is due to the coupling of holin protein accumulation and the breakage of the cellular membrane. The stochastic coupling framework also allows us to explicitly evaluate dynamic properties for both biological systems, eliminating the need to utilize the phenomenological concept of thresholds. Excellent agreement with experimental observations is observed, supporting the proposed theoretical ideas. These observations also suggest that the stochastic coupling method captures the important aspects of molecular mechanisms of precise cellular regulation, providing a powerful new tool for more advanced investigations of complex biological phenomena. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b3f91773c83a4ebeb488c8a86de33ce2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-0747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biophysical Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-b3f91773c83a4ebeb488c8a86de33ce22025-02-11T04:35:33ZengElsevierBiophysical Reports2667-07472025-03-0151100197Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systemsAnupam Mondal0Anatoly B. Kolomeisky1Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas; Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TexasCenter for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas; Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas; Corresponding authorAll living systems display remarkable spatial and temporal precision, despite operating in intrinsically fluctuating environments. It is even more surprising given that biological phenomena are regulated by multiple chemical reactions that are also random. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of surprisingly high precision in biology remain not well understood, a novel theoretical picture that relies on the coupling of relevant stochastic processes has recently been proposed and applied to explain different phenomena. To illustrate this approach, in this review, we discuss two systems that exhibit precision control: spatial regulation in bacterial cell size and temporal regulation in the timing of cell lysis by λ bacteriophage. In cell-size regulation, it is argued that a balance between stochastic cell growth and cell division processes leads to a narrow distribution of cell sizes. In cell lysis, it is shown that precise timing is due to the coupling of holin protein accumulation and the breakage of the cellular membrane. The stochastic coupling framework also allows us to explicitly evaluate dynamic properties for both biological systems, eliminating the need to utilize the phenomenological concept of thresholds. Excellent agreement with experimental observations is observed, supporting the proposed theoretical ideas. These observations also suggest that the stochastic coupling method captures the important aspects of molecular mechanisms of precise cellular regulation, providing a powerful new tool for more advanced investigations of complex biological phenomena.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667074725000023 |
| spellingShingle | Anupam Mondal Anatoly B. Kolomeisky Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems Biophysical Reports |
| title | Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| title_full | Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| title_fullStr | Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| title_short | Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| title_sort | microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667074725000023 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anupammondal microscopicoriginofthespatialandtemporalprecisioninbiologicalsystems AT anatolybkolomeisky microscopicoriginofthespatialandtemporalprecisioninbiologicalsystems |