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Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Mayer, A; Li, J; McLaughlin, G; Gladfelter, A; Roper, M
Published in: Biophys J
April 16, 2024

Bursty transcription allows nuclei to concentrate the work of transcribing mRNA into short, intermittent intervals, potentially reducing transcriptional interference. However, bursts of mRNA production can increase noise in protein abundances. Here, we formulate models for gene expression in syncytia, or multinucleate cells, showing that protein abundance noise may be mitigated locally via spatial averaging of diffuse proteins. Our modeling shows a universal reduction in protein noise, which increases with the average number of nuclei per cell and persists even when the number of nuclei is itself a random variable. Experimental data comparing distributions of a cyclin mRNA that is conserved between brewer's yeast and a closely related filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii confirm that syncytism is permissive of greater levels of transcriptional noise. Our findings suggest that division of transcriptional labor between nuclei allows syncytia to sidestep tradeoffs between efficiency and precision of gene expression.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biophys J

DOI

EISSN

1542-0086

Publication Date

April 16, 2024

Volume

123

Issue

8

Start / End Page

968 / 978

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • RNA, Messenger
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Cell Nucleus
  • Biophysics
  • 51 Physical sciences
  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 03 Chemical Sciences
  • 02 Physical Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Mayer, A., Li, J., McLaughlin, G., Gladfelter, A., & Roper, M. (2024). Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells. Biophys J, 123(8), 968–978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2024.03.009
Mayer, Alex, Jiayu Li, Grace McLaughlin, Amy Gladfelter, and Marcus Roper. “Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells.Biophys J 123, no. 8 (April 16, 2024): 968–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2024.03.009.
Mayer A, Li J, McLaughlin G, Gladfelter A, Roper M. Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells. Biophys J. 2024 Apr 16;123(8):968–78.
Mayer, Alex, et al. “Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells.Biophys J, vol. 123, no. 8, Apr. 2024, pp. 968–78. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2024.03.009.
Mayer A, Li J, McLaughlin G, Gladfelter A, Roper M. Mitigating transcription noise via protein sharing in syncytial cells. Biophys J. 2024 Apr 16;123(8):968–978.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biophys J

DOI

EISSN

1542-0086

Publication Date

April 16, 2024

Volume

123

Issue

8

Start / End Page

968 / 978

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • RNA, Messenger
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Cell Nucleus
  • Biophysics
  • 51 Physical sciences
  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 03 Chemical Sciences
  • 02 Physical Sciences