Stochastic Information Processing and Optimal Design in Eukaryotic Chemotaxis
Mr. Bo Hu
Department of Physics
and Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
UC San Diego
ABSTRACT
Chemotaxis is characterized by the directional cell movement following
external chemical gradients. It plays a crucial role in a variety of
biological processes including neuronal development, wound healing and
cancer metastasis. Ultimately, the accuracy of gradient sensing is limited
by the fluctuations of signaling components, e.g. the stochastic receptor
occupancy on cell surface. We use concepts and techniques from
interrelated disciplines (statistics, information theory, and statistical
physics) to model the stochastic information processing in eukaryotic
chemotaxis. Specifically, we address the following issues:
(1) What are the physical limits of the gradient estimation? (2) How much
information can be reliably gained by a chemotaxing cell? (3) How to
optimize the chemotactic performance? Through answering those questions,
we expect to derive extra insights for general biological signaling
systems.
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