Transcriptional delay stabilizes bistable gene networks

TL;DR

Transcriptional delay enhances the stability of bistable gene networks by increasing the mean residence time near stable states, as demonstrated through stochastic modeling and a new non-Markovian analytical model.

Contribution

This study introduces a non-Markovian reduced model to explain how transcriptional delay stabilizes bistable gene networks, a novel insight into gene regulation dynamics.

Findings

Delay increases mean residence times in stable states

Failed transitions between states become more frequent with delay

All simulated bistable systems exhibit this stabilization effect

Abstract

Transcriptional delay can significantly impact the dynamics of gene networks. Here we examine how such delay affects bistable systems. We investigate several stochastic models of bistable gene networks and find that increasing delay dramatically increases the mean residence times near stable states. To explain this, we introduce a non-Markovian, analytically tractable reduced model. The model shows that stabilization is the consequence of an increased number of failed transitions between stable states. Each of the bistable systems that we simulate behaves in this manner.