Mathematicians have uncovered details about the universal explanatory framework for molecular interactions that help them adapt to new and variable conditions while maintaining tight control over key survival properties.
Throwing open a "window to evolution", the researchers said, their findings represented a blueprint for adaptation-capable signalling networks across all domains of life and for the design of synthetic biosystems.
"Our study considers a process called robust perfect adaptation (RPA) whereby biological systems, from individual cells to entire organisms, maintain important molecules within narrow concentration ranges despite continually being bombarded with disturbances to the system," said Robyn Araujo, from Queensland University of Technology School of Mathematical Sciences, Australia, and corresponding author on the study.
