The yeast cell-cycle network is robustly designed

TLDR

Cellular functions are governed by molecular networks of proteins, DNA, and RNA. The study examines the global dynamics and stability of the budding yeast cell‑cycle regulatory network. A simple dynamical model was used to analyze the yeast cell‑cycle regulatory network. The model shows that the yeast cell‑cycle network is highly stable and robust, with the G1 state as a global attractor, the cell‑cycle trajectory as a globally attracting path, and these properties persisting under small perturbations, indicating that cellular regulatory networks are robustly designed.

Abstract

The interactions between proteins, DNA, and RNA in living cells constitute molecular networks that govern various cellular functions. To investigate the global dynamical properties and stabilities of such networks, we studied the cell-cycle regulatory network of the budding yeast. With the use of a simple dynamical model, it was demonstrated that the cell-cycle network is extremely stable and robust for its function. The biological stationary state, the G 1 state, is a global attractor of the dynamics. The biological pathway, the cell-cycle sequence of protein states, is a globally attracting trajectory of the dynamics. These properties are largely preserved with respect to small perturbations to the network. These results suggest that cellular regulatory networks are robustly designed for their functions.