Coupled oscillator cooperativity as a control mechanism in chronobiology

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Control of dynamical processes is vital for maintaining correct cell regulation and cell-fate decisions. Numerous regulatory networks show oscillatory behavior; however, our knowledge of how one oscillator behaves when stimulated by two or more external oscillatory signals is still missing. We explore this problem by constructing a synthetic oscillatory system in yeast and stimulate it with two external oscillatory signals. Letting model verification and prediction operate in a tight interplay with experimental observations, we find that stimulation with two external signals expands the plateau of entrainment and reduces the fluctuations of oscillations. Furthermore, by adjusting the phase differences of external signals, one can control the amplitude of oscillations, which is understood through the signal delay of the unperturbed oscillatory network. With this we reveal a direct amplitude dependency of downstream gene transcription. Taken together, these results suggest a new path to control oscillatory systems by coupled oscillator cooperativity.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell Systems
Volume14
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)382-391.e5
Number of pages16
ISSN2405-4712
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.

    Research areas

  • coupled oscillators, entrainment, phase modulation, biological oscillation, synthetic biology, Arnold tongues, chronobiology, NF-κB, signaling dynamics

ID: 356890907