The information gain limit of molecular computation

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Hauptverfasser: Arunachalam, Easun, Lin, Milo M.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Arunachalam, Easun
Lin, Milo M.
author_facet Arunachalam, Easun
Lin, Milo M.
contents Biomolecules stochastically occupy different possible configurations with probabilities given by non-equilibrium steady-state distributions. These distributions are determined by the transition rate constants between different configurations. Changing these biochemical parameters (inputs) alters the resulting distributions (outputs), and thus constitutes a form of computation. The information-theoretic advantage of performing computations using non-equilibrium distributions, which require a thermodynamic driving force and thus continual energy expenditure to maintain, is unclear. Here we show how much driving can change probability distributions beyond what is possible at equilibrium. First, we establish a tight limit on how much the driving force can change the probability of observing any configuration of an arbitrary molecular system. We then derive a concise expression relating the driving force to the maximum information gain -- the change in the full probability distribution over configurations -- in any computation, showing how small input changes can exponentially alter outputs. Finally, we numerically show that synthetic systems and Ras signaling can closely approach this bound, illustrating the necessity of energy expenditure to enable the computational capabilities observed in nature.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_15378
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The information gain limit of molecular computation
Arunachalam, Easun
Lin, Milo M.
Biological Physics
82C05, 92E20, 92C05, 92C40, 94C15
J.2; J.3
Biomolecules stochastically occupy different possible configurations with probabilities given by non-equilibrium steady-state distributions. These distributions are determined by the transition rate constants between different configurations. Changing these biochemical parameters (inputs) alters the resulting distributions (outputs), and thus constitutes a form of computation. The information-theoretic advantage of performing computations using non-equilibrium distributions, which require a thermodynamic driving force and thus continual energy expenditure to maintain, is unclear. Here we show how much driving can change probability distributions beyond what is possible at equilibrium. First, we establish a tight limit on how much the driving force can change the probability of observing any configuration of an arbitrary molecular system. We then derive a concise expression relating the driving force to the maximum information gain -- the change in the full probability distribution over configurations -- in any computation, showing how small input changes can exponentially alter outputs. Finally, we numerically show that synthetic systems and Ras signaling can closely approach this bound, illustrating the necessity of energy expenditure to enable the computational capabilities observed in nature.
title The information gain limit of molecular computation
topic Biological Physics
82C05, 92E20, 92C05, 92C40, 94C15
J.2; J.3
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.15378