Biochemical Programs and Analog-Digital Mixed Algorithms in the Cell

François Fages (1) , Guillaume Le Guludec (1)

1 Lifeware - Computational systems biology and optimization

In this chapter, we take an IT perspective in seeking to understand how computation is carried out in the cell to maintain itself in its environment, process signals and make the decisions that determine its fate. The continuous nature of many protein interactions leads us to consider mixed analog-digital computation models, for which recent results in the theory of analog computability and complexity establish fundamental links with classical programming. We derive from these results a compiler of behavioral specifications into biochemical reactions, which can be compared to natural circuits acquired through evolution. We illustrate this approach through the example of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling module, which has a function of analog-digital converter in the cell, and through the cell cycle control.

Domaines: Bio-informatique [q-bio.QM]

François Fages, Guillaume Le Guludec. Biochemical Programs and Analog-Digital Mixed Algorithms in the Cell. Life Sciences, Information Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp.201-216, 2018, 9781786302434. ⟨10.1002/9781119452713.ch19⟩. ⟨hal-01948714⟩