Original title: Gene expression in growing cells: A biophysical primer
Authors: Ido Golding, Ariel Amir
In their article, the researchers explore the link between cell growth, gene expression, and the cell cycle. Historically, studies treated gene activity independently of cell cycle progression. However, recent advancements highlight how cellular observables—like gene-related molecules—fluctuate with the cell’s periodic changes. Throughout the cycle, factors crucial for gene functions fluctuate: increasing during certain phases, diluted as cells grow, altered during genome replication, and reduced after division. This fluctuation results in inherent stochasticity, causing variations in molecule production and distribution at cell division. The review focuses on understanding this interplay, emphasizing global patterns of gene expression rather than gene-specific regulation. Recent experiments measuring cell growth and gene expression in individual cells offer insights into this connection. Despite variations across genes and organisms, new theoretical models strive to create a unified framework for comprehending gene expression in growing cells.
Original article: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.12143