---
res:
  bibo_abstract:
  - Eukaryotic gene regulation relies on stochastic yet controlled promoter switching,
    in which genes transition between transcriptionally active and inactive states.
    Despite the molecular complexity of this process, recent studies have revealed
    a surprising invariance of the “switching correlation time” (TC)—the characteristic
    decay time of the autocorrelation function of promoter activity fluctuations—across
    gene expression levels in multiple genes and organisms. A biophysically plausible
    explanation for this invariance has so far been lacking. Here, we show that this
    empirical constraint imposes stringent requirements on minimal yet realistic models
    of transcriptional regulation. Specifically, reproducing TC–invariance requires
    regulatory architectures with at least four internal states and nonequilibrium
    dynamics that break detailed balance. Using Bayesian inference on Drosophila gap
    gene expression data, we demonstrate that such models i) quantitatively reproduce
    the observed TC–invariance, ii) remain robust to parameter perturbations, and
    iii) maximize information transmission from transcription factor concentration
    to gene expression. Remarkably, the TC-invariant modulation strategy we identify
    as optimal closely parallels contemporary control-theoretic results on the modulation
    of stochastic switching systems. Taken together, our results suggest that eukaryotic
    transcriptional regulation operates in a nonequilibrium regime to balance precision,
    reaction-rate limitations, and energy dissipation, thereby achieving near-optimal
    information transmission under fundamental physical constraints.@eng
  bibo_authorlist:
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Benjamin
      foaf_name: Zoller, Benjamin
      foaf_surname: Zoller
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Alexis
      foaf_name: Benichou, Alexis
      foaf_surname: Benichou
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=3a67230c-5fc0-11ef-a673-de9a2ffadafe
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Thomas
      foaf_name: Gregor, Thomas
      foaf_surname: Gregor
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Gašper
      foaf_name: Tkačik, Gašper
      foaf_surname: Tkačik
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
    orcid: 0000-0002-6699-1455
  bibo_doi: 10.1073/pnas.2524855123
  bibo_issue: '28'
  bibo_volume: 123
  dct_date: 2026^xs_gYear
  dct_isPartOf:
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/0027-8424
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/1091-6490
  dct_language: eng
  dct_publisher: National Academy of Sciences@
  dct_title: Invariant nonequilibrium dynamics in gene regulation optimize information
    flow@
  fabio_hasPubmedId: '42406962'
...