Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Caltech M/C 114-96, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
Nature. 2010 Sep 9;467(7312):167-73. doi: 10.1038/nature09326.
The genetic circuits that regulate cellular functions are subject to stochastic fluctuations, or 'noise', in the levels of their components. Noise, far from just a nuisance, has begun to be appreciated for its essential role in key cellular activities. Noise functions in both microbial and eukaryotic cells, in multicellular development, and in evolution. It enables coordination of gene expression across large regulons, as well as probabilistic differentiation strategies that function across cell populations. At the longest timescales, noise may facilitate evolutionary transitions. Here we review examples and emerging principles that connect noise, the architecture of the gene circuits in which it is present, and the biological functions it enables. We further indicate some of the important challenges and opportunities going forward.
调控细胞功能的遗传电路会受到其组成成分水平的随机波动，即“噪声”的影响。噪声远非仅仅是一种干扰，它在关键细胞活动中的重要作用开始受到重视。噪声在微生物和真核细胞、多细胞发育和进化中都有功能。它可以协调大调控子中的基因表达，以及在细胞群体中起作用的概率分化策略。在最长的时间尺度上，噪声可能有助于进化转变。在这里，我们回顾了将噪声、其存在的基因电路的结构以及它所支持的生物学功能联系起来的实例和新兴原理。我们还进一步指出了未来的一些重要挑战和机遇。
