A synchronized ensemble of genetic clocks coupled by improved quorum sensing

摘要

On the basis of cell-to-cell communication through quorum sensing emerges a synchronous behavior; the rate of achieving such a collective response plays a vital role in organism adaptability to environment fluctuations. Using mathematical and computational modeling, we contrast the functional performance of the quorum sensing genetic clocks with two different signal transduction pathways. Our results indicate that genetic clocks coupled by improved quorum sensing creates a 'dual-time' synchronization that is more rapidly inducible and resistant to noise introduced from quorum sensing.