Transcriptional bursting dynamics in gene expression

Abstract

Gene transcription is a stochastic process that occurs in all organisms. Transcriptional bursting, a critical molecular dynamics mechanism, creates significant heterogeneity in mRNA and protein levels. This heterogeneity drives cellular phenotypic diversity. Currently, the lack of a comprehensive quantitative model limits the research on transcriptional bursting. This review examines various gene expression models and compares their strengths and weaknesses to guide researchers in selecting the most suitable model for their research context. We also provide a detailed summary of the key metrics related to transcriptional bursting. We compared the temporal dynamics of transcriptional bursting across species and the molecular mechanisms influencing these bursts, and highlighted the spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression differences by utilizing metrics such as burst size and burst frequency. We summarized the strategies for modeling gene expression from both biostatistical and biochemical reaction network perspectives. Single-cell sequencing data and integrated multiomics approaches drive our exploration of cutting-edge trends in transcriptional bursting mechanisms. Moreover, we examined classical methods for parameter estimation that help capture dynamic parameters in gene expression data, assessing their merits and limitations to facilitate optimal parameter estimation. Our comprehensive summary and review of the current transcriptional burst dynamics theories provide deeper insights for promoting research on the nature of cell processes, cell fate determination, and cancer diagnosis.