Elowitz, Leibler, 2000

Model Status

This CellML version of this model is not able to reproduce the results shown in Fig1c of the original publication, as the initial conditions for protein concentrations were not provided. The original published equations were scaled and modified with reference to the same model on the Biomodels database (BIOMD0000000012 - Elowitz2000_Repressilator). Once the model comes to equilibrium (t > 400 minutes,) its output is correct.

The units have been checked in this model and are consistent.

Model Structure

ABSTRACT: Networks of interacting biomolecules carry out many essential functions in living cells, but the 'design principles' underlying the functioning of such intracellular networks remain poorly understood, despite intensive efforts including quantitative analysis of relatively simple systems. Here we present a complementary approach to this problem: the design and construction of a synthetic network to implement a particular function.

We used three transcriptional repressor systems that are not part of any natural biological clock to build an oscillating network, termed the repressilator, in Escherichia coli. The network periodically induces the synthesis of green fluorescent protein as a readout of its state in individual cells. The resulting oscillations, with typical periods of hours, are slower than the cell-division cycle, so the state of the oscillator has to be transmitted from generation to generation. This artificial clock displays noisy behaviour, possibly because of stochastic fluctuations of its components. Such 'rational network design' may lead both to the engineering of new cellular behaviours and to an improved understanding of naturally occurring networks.

The complete original paper reference is cited below:

A synthetic oscillatory network of transcriptional regulators, Michael B. Elowitz and Stanislas Leibler, 2000, Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science, 403, 335-338. PubMed ID: 10659856

The repressilator network.