Hong Qian∗, Hao Ge†
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 1-30, 2012, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2012.009.001
Abstract Biochemical reaction systems in mesoscopic volume, under sustained environmental chemical gradient(s), can have multiple stochastic attractors. Two distinct mechanisms are known for their origins: (a) Stochastic single-molecule events, such as gene expression, with slow gene on-off dynamics; and (b) nonlinear networks with feedbacks. These two mechanisms yield different volume dependence for the sojourn time of an attractor. As in the classic Arrhenius theory for temperature dependent transition rates, a landscape perspective provides a natural framework for the system's behavior. However, due to the nonequilibrium nature of the open chemical systems, the landscape, and the attractors it represents, are all themselves… More >
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