Funneled Potential and Flux Landscapes Dictate the Stabilities of both the States and the Flow: Fission Yeast Cell Cycle

TL;DR

This paper investigates how potential and flux landscapes influence the stability and flow of the fission yeast cell cycle, revealing key factors for stability, oscillation, and energy dissipation in non-equilibrium biological networks.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of funneled potential and flux landscapes as essential for understanding cell cycle stability and oscillations, advancing the theoretical framework of non-equilibrium network dynamics.

Findings

Potential landscape stabilizes cell cycle states.

Flux landscape sustains oscillation flow.

Energy dissipation relates to detailed balance breaking.

Abstract

We have uncovered that the non-equilibrium network dynamics and global properties are determined by two essential features: the potential landscape and the flux landscape. We have found that the funneled potential landscape is crucial for the stability of the states on the cell cycle, however, the stabilities of the oscillation states cannot guarantee the stable directional flows. We have uncovered that the funneled flux landscape is important for the emergence and maintenance of the stable limit cycle oscillation flow. This work will allow us to identify the key factors and structure elements of the networks in determining the stability, speed and robustness of the fission yeast cell cycle oscillations. We see that the nonequilibriumness characterized by the degree of detailed balance breaking from the energy pump quantified by the flux is the cause of the energy dissipation for initiating and sustaining the replications essential for the origin and evolution of life. Regulating the cell cycle speed is crucial for designing the prevention and curing strategy of cancer.