Using synthetic biology to study gene expression control and noise

by John McCarthy (Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology centre, University of Warwick, UK)

Tuesday 28 Mar 2017, 16:00 → 18:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dip. di Fisica - Edificio G. Marconi)

Gene expression stochasticity (or noise) generates non-genetic cellular diversity, from microbes to mammals. By creating phenotypic diversity for otherwise genetically identical cells, stochasticity is crucial for optimised resource utilisation and adaptation of microorganisms to a stressful fluctuating environment. Recent analysis indicates that gene expression noise reduces mean fitness in yeast by at least 25%. It has been widely assumed that the predominant source of this noise is transcription. However, in this talk I will demonstrate that this is an oversimplification. The yeast cell commits a large percentage (>76%) of its ‘energy budget’ to protein synthesis. Therefore rate control and noise management in the translation machinery will have major impacts on organism fitness. I will consider the ‘rules’ determining the relationship between mechanism, rate control and limits of noise generation for components of the translation machinery, and how these relate to evolution. We use a wide range of biophysical, biochemical and computational techniques to study these quantitative features of biological systems.