λ -Prophage induction modeled as a cooperative failure mode of lytic repression

Abstract

We analyze a system-level model for lytic repression of λ phage in E. coli using reliability theory, showing that the repressor circuit comprises four redundant components whose failure mode is prophage induction. Our model reflects the specific biochemical mechanisms involved in regulation, including long-range cooperative binding, and its detailed predictions for prophage induction in E. coli under ultraviolet radiation are in good agreement with experimental data. © 2009 The American Physical Society.