Theory of self-organized cell fate specification

A key feature of many developmental systems is their ability to self-organize spatial patterns of functionally distinct cell types. In these systems, patterns of gene expression are established through signaling, followed by the specification of individual cells into a discrete cell fate. What are the principles of cell signaling and specification that give rise to reproducible fate patterns in the face of external constraints such as molecular noise and individual variability? In an attempt to unify the zoo of chemical and mechanical signaling processes that feed into fate decisions, we develop an information-theoretic approach to quantify reproducibility and robustness of fate patterns. We demonstrate how this framework provides a normative approach for optimization of cell signaling, which we showcase using a variety of mechanistic models ranging from reaction-diffusion systems to delta-notch signaling.