Science Jam #54: The interplay between metabolic stochasticity, growth, and gene regulation in single E. coli cells

Science Jam is back! Thanks to the Young Complexity Researchers Utrecht (YCRU) group, they brought these popular sessions back to the CCSS for our researchers to discuss challenges in Complex Systems Studies.  Everyone is welcome!

Therefore, we cordially invite you to the Science Jam #54 on Tuesday 24 September (12:00-13:00) at the Centre for Complex Systems Studies (CCSS) where you can:

• Get a free gourmet lunch with the best sandwiches you can get at the Utrecht Science Park plus nice drinks;
• Know one senior complexity researchers' work over one-hour lunch time;
• Contribute your professional knowledge and experiences in a relaxing and informal setting;
• Develop potential collaboration.

Leading complexity researcher: Dr. Rutger Hermsen, Biodynamics and Biocomplexity

Abstract:
Bacterial cells can thrive on various nutrients and under diverse conditions. To achieve this, they regulate the expression of their genes and their metabolic activity in response to internal and external signals. Consequently, gene expression, metabolism and growth are highly intertwined. This is even the case if cells are grown under constant conditions. In constant environments, expression levels, metabolic fluxes and growth rates of individual cells fluctuate stochastically, and these fluctuations propagate among these variables in complex ways. In this study, we applied a mathematical (linear-noise) model to analyze recent single-cell experiments from collaborators in the lab of Sander Tans (AMOLF). The model successfully dissects and explains the cross-correlations observed between single-cell variables. These cross-correlations reveal that, even in fixed environments, gene-regulatory feedback networks constantly respond to internal stochastic metabolic fluctuations.
 

Everyone is welcome and please feel free to invite your colleagues/friends/classmates/students to join us. 

If you would like to have the lunch arrangement, please sign up before 15:00 Monday 23 September.