Genes can respond to the encoded information in the signal, or they can be completely filtered out

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that genes can recognize and respond to encoded information in light signals, while also filtering out some signals completely

"The basic idea here is that you can encode information in the dynamics of the signal received by the gene," said Albert Keung, assistant professor of chemistry and biomolecular engineering at North Carolina State University and the corresponding author of the paper.

In this study, the researchers modified the yeast cells to have a gene that can produce fluorescent proteins when the cells are exposed to blue light

How does this work

The researchers then exposed the yeast cells to 119 different light patterns

People talk about turning genes on or off, but it's less like a light switch, more like a dimmer switch-a gene can be activated a little, a lot, or anywhere in between

"We found that in terms of genetic activity, different light patterns produce very different results," said North Carolina State University Jessica Lee, the lead author of the paper

The researchers found that all three light pattern variables—the intensity of light, the frequency of light pulses, and the duration of each pulse—can affect gene activity, but they found that controlling the frequency of light pulses can most accurately control genes Activity

"We are also here using experimental data to develop a computational model to help us better understand why different models produce different levels of gene activity," said Leandra Caywood, a PhD student at North Carolina State University and co-author of the paper

"For example, we found that when you cluster fast light pulses very tightly together, you get more gene activity than you would expect from the amount of light applied

"Our findings are related to cells that respond to light, such as those found in leaves," Keung said

This is the actual situation

"This tells us that you can use the same protein to provide different information to the same gene," Keung said

In another set of experiments, the researchers found that genes can also filter out some signals

The researchers also found that they can control the number of genes that can respond to different signals by controlling the number and types of proteins attached to the promoter region of a gene

For example, you can attach a protein to the promoter region as a filter to limit the number of signals that activate genes

"Another contribution of this work is that we have determined that through a protein connection, we can exchange about 1.
71 bits of information through the promoter region of the gene," Lee said
.
"In practice, this means that genes, without a complex protein connection network, can distinguish more than 3 signals without making mistakes
.
Previous work set the baseline to 1.
55 bits, so this research advances our understanding of possible
.
This is the foundation we can build
.
"

The researchers say that this work enables future research to advance our understanding of cell behavior and gene expression dynamics
.

The researchers said that in the near term, this work has practical applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
.

"In biomanufacturing, you often want to manage the growth of cells and the rate at which these cells produce specific proteins
.
" "Our work here can help manufacturers fine-tune and control these two variables
.
"

Original search:

"Mapping the Dynamic Transfer Functions of Eukaryotic Gene Regulation," will be published Aug.
31 in the journal Cell Systems .