Footprints in the noise: understanding gene circuit structure and function using noise spectroscopy

The study of gene expression noise has a long history with analytical roots in the early 1900s and biological roots that extend at least back to Delbruck’s work in the 1940s. More recent work, with gene regulation conceptualized in terms analogous to electronic circuits, has elucidated the direct connection between the “structure” of the noise and the structure and function of the underlying gene circuits. This talk will describe the history of gene expression noise spectroscopy as a means to probe gene regulatory arrangements such as positive and negative autoregulation, including the positive and negative feedback loops in the HIV gene circuit. The talk will conclude with a focus on more recent work to use expression noise spectroscopy to understand the synergistic effects of confinement and macromolecular crowding in cell-free expression systems.