# Stochasticity and negative feedback lead to pulsed dynamics and distinct gene activity patterns

## TL;DR

This paper explores how random gene switching and negative feedback create pulsed gene activity patterns.

## Contribution

A hybrid model shows that gene stochasticity alone can induce pulses and reproduce observed gene activity distributions.

## Key findings

- Stochastic gene switching can induce pulses in gene expression.
- The model reproduces both exponential and peaked distributions of gene active and inactive times.
- The hybrid approach links gene activity patterns to system dynamics for each gene state.

## Abstract

Gene expression is an inherently stochastic process that depends on the structure of the biochemical regulatory network in which the gene is embedded. Here we study the interplay between stochastic gene switching and the widespread negative feedback regulatory loop. Using a simple hybrid model, we find that stochasticity in gene switching by itself can induce pulses in the system. Furthermore, we find that our simple model is able to reproduce both exponential and peaked distributions of gene active and inactive times similar to those that have been observed experimentally. Our hybrid modelling approach also allows us to link these patterns to the dynamics of the system for each gene state.