Thermodynamic limits on general far-from-equilibrium molecular templating networks

TL;DR

This paper establishes thermodynamic bounds on information transmission in molecular templating networks, revealing that optimal systems operate at low entropy production with pseudo-equilibrium states, regardless of network complexity.

Contribution

It introduces a thermodynamic framework that bounds information flow in complex molecular networks, highlighting the role of pseudo-equilibrium states in limiting information transmission.

Findings

Information transmission is bounded by a simple thermodynamic property.

Optimal systems operate at low entropy production.

Pseudo-equilibrium states determine the limits of information flow.

Abstract

Cells produce RNA and proteins via molecular templating networks. We show that information transmission in such networks is bounded by functions of a simple thermodynamic property of the network, regardless of complexity. Surprisingly, putative systems operating at this bound do not have a high flux around the network. Instead, they have low entropy production, with each product in a ``pseudo-equilibrium'' determined by a single pathway. These pseudo-equilibrium limits constrain information transmission for the overall network, even if individual templates are arbitrarily specific.