--- _id: '1242' abstract: - lang: eng text: A crucial step in the regulation of gene expression is binding of transcription factor (TF) proteins to regulatory sites along the DNA. But transcription factors act at nanomolar concentrations, and noise due to random arrival of these molecules at their binding sites can severely limit the precision of regulation. Recent work on the optimization of information flow through regulatory networks indicates that the lower end of the dynamic range of concentrations is simply inaccessible, overwhelmed by the impact of this noise. Motivated by the behavior of homeodomain proteins, such as the maternal morphogen Bicoid in the fruit fly embryo, we suggest a scheme in which transcription factors also act as indirect translational regulators, binding to the mRNA of other regulatory proteins. Intuitively, each mRNA molecule acts as an independent sensor of the input concentration, and averaging over these multiple sensors reduces the noise. We analyze information flow through this scheme and identify conditions under which it outperforms direct transcriptional regulation. Our results suggest that the dual role of homeodomain proteins is not just a historical accident, but a solution to a crucial physics problem in the regulation of gene expression. acknowledgement: "We thank T. Gregor, A. Prochaintz, and others for\r\nhelpful discussions. This work was supported in part by\r\nGrants No. PHY-1305525 and No. CCF-0939370 from the\r\nUS National Science Foundation and by the W.M. Keck\r\nFoundation. A.M.W. acknowledges the support by European\r\nResearch Council (ERC) Grant No. MCCIG PCIG10–GA-\r\n2011–303561. G.T. and T.R.S. were supported by Austrian\r\nScience Fund (FWF) Grant No. P28844S." article_number: '022404' author: - first_name: Thomas R full_name: Sokolowski, Thomas R id: 3E999752-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Sokolowski orcid: 0000-0002-1287-3779 - first_name: Aleksandra full_name: Walczak, Aleksandra last_name: Walczak - first_name: William full_name: Bialek, William last_name: Bialek - first_name: Gasper full_name: Tkacik, Gasper id: 3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tkacik orcid: 0000-0002-6699-1455 citation: ama: Sokolowski TR, Walczak A, Bialek W, Tkačik G. Extending the dynamic range of transcription factor action by translational regulation. Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics. 2016;93(2). doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022404 apa: Sokolowski, T. R., Walczak, A., Bialek, W., & Tkačik, G. (2016). Extending the dynamic range of transcription factor action by translational regulation. Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics. American Institute of Physics. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022404 chicago: Sokolowski, Thomas R, Aleksandra Walczak, William Bialek, and Gašper Tkačik. “Extending the Dynamic Range of Transcription Factor Action by Translational Regulation.” Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics. American Institute of Physics, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022404. ieee: T. R. Sokolowski, A. Walczak, W. Bialek, and G. Tkačik, “Extending the dynamic range of transcription factor action by translational regulation,” Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 93, no. 2. American Institute of Physics, 2016. ista: Sokolowski TR, Walczak A, Bialek W, Tkačik G. 2016. Extending the dynamic range of transcription factor action by translational regulation. Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics. 93(2), 022404. mla: Sokolowski, Thomas R., et al. “Extending the Dynamic Range of Transcription Factor Action by Translational Regulation.” Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 93, no. 2, 022404, American Institute of Physics, 2016, doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022404. short: T.R. Sokolowski, A. Walczak, W. Bialek, G. Tkačik, Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics 93 (2016). date_created: 2018-12-11T11:50:54Z date_published: 2016-02-04T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2021-01-12T06:49:20Z day: '04' department: - _id: GaTk doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022404 intvolume: ' 93' issue: '2' language: - iso: eng main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://arxiv.org/abs/1507.02562 month: '02' oa: 1 oa_version: Preprint project: - _id: 254E9036-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FWF grant_number: P28844-B27 name: Biophysics of information processing in gene regulation publication: Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics publication_status: published publisher: American Institute of Physics publist_id: '6088' quality_controlled: '1' scopus_import: 1 status: public title: Extending the dynamic range of transcription factor action by translational regulation type: journal_article user_id: 3E5EF7F0-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 93 year: '2016' ...