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Fold-Change Detection in a Whole-Pathway Model of Escherichia coli chemotaxis

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Abstract

There has been recent interest in sensory systems that are able to display a response which is proportional to a fold change in stimulus concentration, a feature referred to as fold-change detection (FCD). Here, we demonstrate FCD in a recent whole-pathway mathematical model of Escherichia coli chemotaxis. FCD is shown to hold for each protein in the signalling cascade and to be robust to kinetic rate and protein concentration variation. Using a sensitivity analysis, we find that only variations in the number of receptors within a signalling team lead to the model not exhibiting FCD. We also discuss the ability of a cell with multiple receptor types to display FCD and explain how a particular receptor configuration may be used to elucidate the two experimentally determined regimes of FCD behaviour. All findings are discussed in respect of the experimental literature.

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Acknowledgments

MPE was supported by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Studentship, UK, and MJT by a Research Council UK Fellowship during the period in which this research was undertaken.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 220, Reading, RG6 6AX, UK

    Matthew P. Edgington & Marcus J. Tindall

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6BX, UK

    Marcus J. Tindall

  3. Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 218, Reading, RG6 6AA, UK

    Marcus J. Tindall

Authors
  1. Matthew P. Edgington
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  2. Marcus J. Tindall
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Correspondence to Marcus J. Tindall.

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Edgington, M.P., Tindall, M.J. Fold-Change Detection in a Whole-Pathway Model of Escherichia coli chemotaxis. Bull Math Biol 76, 1376–1395 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-014-9965-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-014-9965-3

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