Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00775 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866909759284707328 |
|---|---|
| author | Koslover, Elena F Lin, Milo M Phillips, Rob |
| author_facet | Koslover, Elena F Lin, Milo M Phillips, Rob |
| contents | A variety of biomolecular systems rely on exploratory dynamics to reach target locations or states within a cell. Without a mechanism to remotely sense and move directly towards a target, the system must sample over many paths, often including resetting transitions back to the origin. We investigate how exploratory dynamics can confer an important functional benefit: the ability to respond to small changes in parameters with large shifts in the steady-state behavior. However, such enhanced sensitivity comes at a cost: resetting cycles require energy dissipation in order to push the system out of its equilibrium steady state. We focus on minimalist models for two concrete examples: translational proofreading in the ribosome and microtubule length control via dynamic instability to illustrate the trade-offs between energetic cost and sensitivity. In the former, a driven hydrolysis step enhances the ability to distinguish between substrates and decoys with small binding energy differences. In the latter, resetting cycles enable catalytic control, with the steady-state length distribution modulated by sub-stoichiometric concentrations of a reusable catalyst. Synthesizing past models of these well-studied systems, we show how path-counting and circuit mapping approaches can be used to address fundamental questions such as the number of futile cycles inherent in translation and the steady-state length distribution of a dynamically unstable polymer. In both cases, a limited amount of thermodynamic driving is sufficient to yield a qualitative transition to a system with enhanced sensitivity, enabling accurate discrimination and catalytic control at a modest energetic cost. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_00775 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Many Will Enter, Few Will Win: Cost and Sensitivity of Exploratory Dynamics Koslover, Elena F Lin, Milo M Phillips, Rob Biological Physics A variety of biomolecular systems rely on exploratory dynamics to reach target locations or states within a cell. Without a mechanism to remotely sense and move directly towards a target, the system must sample over many paths, often including resetting transitions back to the origin. We investigate how exploratory dynamics can confer an important functional benefit: the ability to respond to small changes in parameters with large shifts in the steady-state behavior. However, such enhanced sensitivity comes at a cost: resetting cycles require energy dissipation in order to push the system out of its equilibrium steady state. We focus on minimalist models for two concrete examples: translational proofreading in the ribosome and microtubule length control via dynamic instability to illustrate the trade-offs between energetic cost and sensitivity. In the former, a driven hydrolysis step enhances the ability to distinguish between substrates and decoys with small binding energy differences. In the latter, resetting cycles enable catalytic control, with the steady-state length distribution modulated by sub-stoichiometric concentrations of a reusable catalyst. Synthesizing past models of these well-studied systems, we show how path-counting and circuit mapping approaches can be used to address fundamental questions such as the number of futile cycles inherent in translation and the steady-state length distribution of a dynamically unstable polymer. In both cases, a limited amount of thermodynamic driving is sufficient to yield a qualitative transition to a system with enhanced sensitivity, enabling accurate discrimination and catalytic control at a modest energetic cost. |
| title | Many Will Enter, Few Will Win: Cost and Sensitivity of Exploratory Dynamics |
| topic | Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00775 |