BIOPHYSICAL THEORY AND MODELING |
Mathematical description of gene regulatory units
Reiko J Tanaka 1, Hiroyuki Okano 1 and hidenori kimura 2*
1 RIKEN
2 Riken
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kimura{at}bmc.riken.jp.
Submitted on January 25, 2006
Revised on March 13, 2006
Accepted on 15 May 2006
 |
Abstract |
|---|
Revealing the control mechanisms responsible for the cell's surprisingly well-organized functions should lead directly to a better understanding of how the cell adapts to extraordinarily changing environments. A general framework for describing models that can represent diverse biochemical regulatory functions systematically would help not only systematic interpretation of the various models proposed for certain systems but also further understanding of the general control mechanism and design principles underlying different biological systems. This paper presents a unified mathematical framework for describing gene regulatory units. The proposed framework is fairly compatible with the classic control theoretical framework, so it should serve as a connecting bridge between engineering control theory and biological control mechanisms. It should also provide a unified view of different regulatory units and facilitate systematic comparison of different mathematical models proposed in various literature.
Key Words:
compound control, control theory, general description, regulatory units, task
