Hyperstructures, genome analysis and i-cell

New concepts may prove necessary to profit from the avalanche of sequence data on the genome, transcriptome, proteome and interactome and to relate this information to cell physiology. Here, we focus on the concept of large activity-based structures, or hyperstructures, in which a variety of types o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta biotheoretica 2002, Vol.50, p.357-373
Main Authors: Norris, V., Amar, P., Ballet, P., Bernot, G., Bouligand, Y., Bourguine, P., Delosme, J.-M., Demarty, M., Fishov, I., Fralick, J., Giavitto, J.-L., Gleyse, B., Godin, Christophe, Incitti, R., Lange, C., Le Sceller, L., Loutellier, C., Michel, O., Molina, F., Monnier, C., Moreno, C., Orange, N., Pollard, H., Raine, D., Rambourg, A., Ramsden, J., Ripoll, C., Rouviere-Yaniv, J., Saier Jnr, M., Soler, P., Thellier, M., Tracqui, Ph, Ussery, D., Valleton, J.-M., Vannier, J.-P., Wiggins, P., Zemirline, A., Képès, F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
Bioinformatics
Cellular Biology
Computer Science
Life Sciences
Quantitative Methods
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:New concepts may prove necessary to profit from the avalanche of sequence data on the genome, transcriptome, proteome and interactome and to relate this information to cell physiology. Here, we focus on the concept of large activity-based structures, or hyperstructures, in which a variety of types of molecules are brought together to perform a function. We review the evidence for the existence of hyperstructures responsible for the initiation of DNA replication, the sequestration of newly replicated origins of replication, cell division and for metabolism. The processes responsible for hyperstructure formation include changes in enzyme affinities due to metabolite-induction, lipid-protein affinities, elevated local concentrations of proteins and their binding sites on DNA and RNA, and transertion. Experimental techniques exist that can be used to study hyperstructures and we review some of the ones less familiar to biologists. Finally, we speculate on how a variety of in silico approaches involving cellular automata and multi-agent systems could be combined to develop new concepts in the form of an Integrated cell (I-cell) which would undergo selection for growth and survival in a world of artificial microbiology.
ISSN:0001-5342
1572-8358