Fluctuation-driven adaptation and symbiosis in cellular dynamics

Abstract

Biological systems can generally adapt environmental chan- ges and to create symbiotic relationship with other species, by changing their intra-cellular states flexibly. However, the mechanisms for such flexible adaptation and creation of symbiotic relationship remain unclear. In this study, by using simple computer models of cells, we show that for cells whose gene expression fluctuate stochastically, the adaptive cellular state is inevitably selected by noise, even without sophisticated mechanisms. Furthermore, by the fluctuation-induced adaptation mechanism, we show that symbiotic relationships naturally appear in systems of interacting cells. This mechanism can provide clues to understand flexible adaptation and creation of symbiotic relationship. Applications of this mechanism for designing artificial systems are also discussed. © 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.