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Self-regulation in a minimal model of chemical self-replication

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Abstract

In biological systems, regulation plays an important role in keeping metabolite concentrations within physiological ranges. To study the dynamical implications of self-regulation, we consider a functional form used in genetic networks and couple it to a mechanism associated with chemical self-replication. For the two-variable minimal model, we find that activation can yield chemical toggles similar to those reported for gene repression in E. coli as well as more complex dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

One of us (EPL) would like to thank Professor Allen Rodgers, and the Chemistry Department of the University of Cape Town for their hospitality during my sabbatical leave. The authors would also like to thank Paola P. Freidrich and Alex Y. Peacock-Villada for helpful comments, and Williams College and the National Science Foundation (CHE-0911380) for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 01267, USA

    Sylvia J. Lou & Enrique Peacock-López

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa

    Enrique Peacock-López

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  1. Sylvia J. Lou
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  2. Enrique Peacock-López
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Correspondence to Enrique Peacock-López.

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Lou, S.J., Peacock-López, E. Self-regulation in a minimal model of chemical self-replication. J Biol Phys 38, 349–364 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10867-011-9252-6

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