---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '3739'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Changes in a cell''s external or internal conditions are usually reflected
    in the concentrations of the relevant transcription factors. These proteins in
    turn modulate the expression levels of the genes under their control and sometimes
    need to perform nontrivial computations that integrate several inputs and affect
    multiple genes. At the same time, the activities of the regulated genes would
    fluctuate even if the inputs were held fixed, as a consequence of the intrinsic
    noise in the system, and such noise must fundamentally limit the reliability of
    any genetic computation. Here we use information theory to formalize the notion
    of information transmission in simple genetic regulatory elements in the presence
    of physically realistic noise sources. The dependence of this "channel capacity"
    on noise parameters, cooperativity and cost of making signaling molecules is explored
    systematically. We find that, in the range of parameters probed by recent in vivo
    measurements, capacities higher than one bit should be achievable. It is of course
    generally accepted that gene regulatory elements must, in order to function properly,
    have a capacity of at least one bit. The central point of our analysis is the
    demonstration that simple physical models of noisy gene transcription, with realistic
    parameters, can indeed achieve this capacity: it was not self-evident that this
    should be so. We also demonstrate that capacities significantly greater than one
    bit are possible, so that transcriptional regulation need not be limited to simple
    "on-off" components. The question whether real systems actually exploit
    this richer possibility is beyond the scope of this investigation.'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Gasper
  full_name: Tkacik, Gasper
  id: 3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Tkacik
  orcid: 0000-0002-6699-1455
- first_name: Curtis
  full_name: Callan, Curtis
  last_name: Callan
- first_name: William
  full_name: Bialek, William
  last_name: Bialek
citation:
  ama: Tkačik G, Callan C, Bialek W. Information capacity of genetic regulatory elements.
    <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics</i>. 2008;78(1).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910">10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910</a>
  apa: Tkačik, G., Callan, C., &#38; Bialek, W. (2008). Information capacity of genetic
    regulatory elements. <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter
    Physics</i>. American Institute of Physics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910</a>
  chicago: Tkačik, Gašper, Curtis Callan, and William Bialek. “Information Capacity
    of Genetic Regulatory Elements.” <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and
    Soft Matter Physics</i>. American Institute of Physics, 2008. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910</a>.
  ieee: G. Tkačik, C. Callan, and W. Bialek, “Information capacity of genetic regulatory
    elements,” <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics</i>,
    vol. 78, no. 1. American Institute of Physics, 2008.
  ista: Tkačik G, Callan C, Bialek W. 2008. Information capacity of genetic regulatory
    elements. Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics. 78(1).
  mla: Tkačik, Gašper, et al. “Information Capacity of Genetic Regulatory Elements.”
    <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics</i>, vol. 78,
    no. 1, American Institute of Physics, 2008, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910">10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910</a>.
  short: G. Tkačik, C. Callan, W. Bialek, Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear
    and Soft Matter Physics 78 (2008).
date_created: 2018-12-11T12:04:54Z
date_published: 2008-07-21T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-10T10:56:03Z
day: '21'
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.78.011910
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - 0709.4209v1
  pmid:
  - '18763985'
intvolume: '        78'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa_version: None
pmid: 1
publication: Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - '15502376'
publication_status: published
publisher: American Institute of Physics
publist_id: '2488'
status: public
title: Information capacity of genetic regulatory elements
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 78
year: '2008'
...