Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission
Abstract Cells detect changes in their environment and generate responses, often involving changes in gene expression. In this paper we use information theory and a simple transcription model to analyze whether the resulting gene expression serves to identify extracellular stimuli and assess their i...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29539-3 |
| _version_ | 1797864645735743488 |
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| author | Alan Givré Alejandro Colman-Lerner Silvina Ponce Dawson |
| author_facet | Alan Givré Alejandro Colman-Lerner Silvina Ponce Dawson |
| author_sort | Alan Givré |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cells detect changes in their environment and generate responses, often involving changes in gene expression. In this paper we use information theory and a simple transcription model to analyze whether the resulting gene expression serves to identify extracellular stimuli and assess their intensity when they are encoded in the amplitude, duration or frequency of pulses of a transcription factor’s nuclear concentration (or activation state). We find, for all cases, that about three ranges of input strengths can be distinguished and that maximum information transmission occurs for fast and high activation threshold promoters. The three input modulation modes differ in the sensitivity to changes in the promoters parameters. Frequency modulation is the most sensitive and duration modulation, the least. This is key for signal identification: there are promoter parameters that yield a relatively high information transmission for duration or amplitude modulation and a much smaller value for frequency modulation. The reverse situation cannot be found with a single promoter transcription model. Thus, pulses of transcription factors can selectively activate the “frequency-tuned” promoter while prolonged nuclear accumulation would activate promoters of all three modes simultaneously. Frequency modulation is therefore highly selective and better suited than the other encoding modes for signal identification without requiring other mediators of the transduction process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:55:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9fcba949e6eb4b99829d64bf2f56e3b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:55:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-9fcba949e6eb4b99829d64bf2f56e3b92023-03-22T11:18:02ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-02-0113111310.1038/s41598-023-29539-3Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmissionAlan Givré0Alejandro Colman-Lerner1Silvina Ponce Dawson2Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresDepartamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresDepartamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresAbstract Cells detect changes in their environment and generate responses, often involving changes in gene expression. In this paper we use information theory and a simple transcription model to analyze whether the resulting gene expression serves to identify extracellular stimuli and assess their intensity when they are encoded in the amplitude, duration or frequency of pulses of a transcription factor’s nuclear concentration (or activation state). We find, for all cases, that about three ranges of input strengths can be distinguished and that maximum information transmission occurs for fast and high activation threshold promoters. The three input modulation modes differ in the sensitivity to changes in the promoters parameters. Frequency modulation is the most sensitive and duration modulation, the least. This is key for signal identification: there are promoter parameters that yield a relatively high information transmission for duration or amplitude modulation and a much smaller value for frequency modulation. The reverse situation cannot be found with a single promoter transcription model. Thus, pulses of transcription factors can selectively activate the “frequency-tuned” promoter while prolonged nuclear accumulation would activate promoters of all three modes simultaneously. Frequency modulation is therefore highly selective and better suited than the other encoding modes for signal identification without requiring other mediators of the transduction process.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29539-3 |
| spellingShingle | Alan Givré Alejandro Colman-Lerner Silvina Ponce Dawson Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission Scientific Reports |
| title | Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| title_full | Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| title_fullStr | Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| title_short | Modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| title_sort | modulation of transcription factor dynamics allows versatile information transmission |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29539-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alangivre modulationoftranscriptionfactordynamicsallowsversatileinformationtransmission AT alejandrocolmanlerner modulationoftranscriptionfactordynamicsallowsversatileinformationtransmission AT silvinaponcedawson modulationoftranscriptionfactordynamicsallowsversatileinformationtransmission |