Signal Manipulation Coordinates Cellular Decision Making at the Population Level

From Q-bio

Autocrine signaling, a form of cell-cell communication, is commonly thought to coordinate population behavior. To understand how the structure of the signaling regulatory network affects this coordination, we rewired one such network from the quorum-sensing bacterium Vibrio fischeri. In the presence of cell to cell heterogeneity, positive feedback on the signaling molecule coordinates a stable population-level response, whereas positive feedback on the transcriptional activator amplifies this heterogeneity and is unstable. A mathematical model suggests that population heterogeneity as opposed to mutation sufficiently explains the experimental results. These findings highlight the importance of signal manipulation in coordinating cellular decision making.