Frequency analysis of splicing regulation.

Abstract

In the past decades, mathematical modelers developed a huge literature to model and analyze gene networks under both deterministic and stochastic formalisms. Such literature is predominantly focused on modeling transcriptional and translational regulation, while the development of proper mathematical frameworks to model and study post-transcriptional regulation via splicing and its connection with transcriptional and translational regulation are almost missing. Nowadays, it is becoming of paramount importance the need for modeling post-transcriptional regulation via splicing especially for bacteria or viruses. However, current literature is focused on investigating splicing regulation at steady state and none of them have the purpose to investigate gene networks behavior in the frequency domain, thus providing only a partial investigation about the system dynamical response. The aim of this work is to theoretically investigate a simple gene network subjects to splicing regulation with/without negative feedback control under a frequency domain perspective. This study showed the pivotal role of the burst size, as well as splicing conversion rates to modulate the noise and the power spectrum response. It also shows an interesting behavior under the frequency domain induced by the merging effect of burst size, splicing conversion rates and negative feedback strength.