How accurately must cells measure the concentrations of signaling molecules?

TL;DR

This paper explores the fundamental limits of how accurately cells can measure signaling molecule concentrations, revealing a universal tradeoff between measurement precision and information relevance, supported by analysis of fly embryo gene data.

Contribution

It introduces a universal tradeoff framework between measurement accuracy and relevant information in cellular signaling, validated through quantitative analysis of developmental gene data.

Findings

Universal tradeoff between measurement accuracy and information relevance

Quantitative validation using fly embryo gap gene data

Implications for cellular sensing limits

Abstract

Information of relevance to the organism often is represented by the concentrations of particular molecules inside a cell. As outside observers we can now measure these concentrations precisely, but the cell's own mechanisms must be noisier. We show that, in certain limits, there is a universal tradeoff between the information capacity of these concentration measurements and the amount of relevant information that is captured, a version of the information bottleneck problem. This universal tradeoff is confirmed, quantitatively, in an analysis of the positional information encoded by the gap genes in the developing fly embryo.