Maximal information transmission is compatible with ultrasensitive biological pathways
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Endres, Robert
Micali, Gabriele
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Cells are often considered input-output devices that maximize the transmission of information
by converting extracellular stimuli (input) via signaling pathways (communication channel) to cell
behavior (output). However, in biological systems outputs might feed back into inputs due to cell
motility, and the biological channel can change by mutations during evolution. Here, we show
that the conventional channel capacity obtained by optimizing the input distribution for a fixed
channel may not reflect the global optimum. In a new approach we analytically identify both input
distributions and input-output curves that optimally transmit information, given constraints from
noise and the dynamic range of the channel. We find a universal optimal input distribution only
depending on the input noise, and we generalize our formalism to multiple outputs (or inputs).
Applying our formalism to Escherichia coli chemotaxis, we find that its pathway is compatible with
optimal information transmission despite the ultrasensitive rotary motors.
by converting extracellular stimuli (input) via signaling pathways (communication channel) to cell
behavior (output). However, in biological systems outputs might feed back into inputs due to cell
motility, and the biological channel can change by mutations during evolution. Here, we show
that the conventional channel capacity obtained by optimizing the input distribution for a fixed
channel may not reflect the global optimum. In a new approach we analytically identify both input
distributions and input-output curves that optimally transmit information, given constraints from
noise and the dynamic range of the channel. We find a universal optimal input distribution only
depending on the input noise, and we generalize our formalism to multiple outputs (or inputs).
Applying our formalism to Escherichia coli chemotaxis, we find that its pathway is compatible with
optimal information transmission despite the ultrasensitive rotary motors.
Date Issued
2019-11-15
Date Acceptance
2019-10-29
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2019, 9
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
9
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Cre-ative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not per-mitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Sponsor
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Grant Number
BB/C519670/1
BB/N00065X/1
Subjects
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
0299 Other Physical Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 16898