Control theoretical concepts for synthetic and systems biology

Abstract

Control theory, a branch of engineering devoted to the analysis and design of robust systems through feedback control, has been instrumental for many technological applications. It has been proposed that control theory is also a productive framework to analyze biological systems and advance their engineering. Examples confirming this perspective include the design of schemes of biomolecular sequestration to implement integral negative feedback for perfect disturbance rejection and the discovery of control theoretic trade-offs between stability and performance in the glycolytic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we briefly review some concepts and tools from classical feedback control theory that have been invoked in the study of biological systems and argue for the need to develop new control concepts specifically tailored to biology.