Dynamical Criticality in Gene Regulatory Networks

A well-known hypothesis, with far-reaching implications, is that biological evolution should preferentially lead to states that are dynamically critical. In previous papers, we showed that a well-known model of genetic regulatory networks, namely, that of random Boolean networks, allows one to study...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marco Villani, Luca La Rocca, Stuart Alan Kauffman, Roberto Serra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi-Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Complexity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/5980636
Description
Summary:A well-known hypothesis, with far-reaching implications, is that biological evolution should preferentially lead to states that are dynamically critical. In previous papers, we showed that a well-known model of genetic regulatory networks, namely, that of random Boolean networks, allows one to study in depth the relationship between the dynamical regime of a living being’s gene network and its response to permanent perturbations. In this paper, we analyze a huge set of new experimental data on single gene knockouts in S. cerevisiae, laying down a statistical framework to determine its dynamical regime. We find that the S. cerevisiae network appears to be slightly ordered, but close to the critical region. Since our analysis relies on dichotomizing continuous data, we carefully consider the issue of an optimal threshold choice.
ISSN:1076-2787
1099-0526