A frequency-dependent decoding mechanism for axonal length sensing

Abstract

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We have recently developed a mathematical model of axonal length sensingin which a system of delay differential equations describe a chemical signaling network. We showed that chemical oscillations emerge due to delayed negative feedback via a Hopf bifurcation, resulting in a frequency that is a monotonically decreasing function of axonal length. In this paper, we explore how frequency-encoding of axonal length can be decoded by a frequency-modulated gene network. If the protein output were thresholded, then this could provide a mechanism for axonal length control. We analyze the robustness of such a mechanism in the presence of intrinsic noise due to finite copy numbers within the gene network.

Keywords

• Gene network
• Intrinsic Noise
• Biochemical oscillations
• Frequency decoding
• Axonal length control
• protein thresholds