Noise-induced bistable switching dynamics through a potential energy landscape

Abstract: Interlinked positive feedback loops, an important building block of biochemical systems, can induce bistable switching, leading to long-lasting state changes by brief stimuli. In this work, prevalent mutual activation between two species as another positive feedback is added to a generic interlinked positive-feedback-loop model originating from many realistic biological circuits. A stochastic fluctuation of the positive feedback strength is introduced in a bistable interval of the feedback strength, and bistability appears for the moderate feedback strength at a certain noise level. Stability analysis based on the potential energy landscape is further utilized to explore the noise-induced switching behavior of two stable steady states. Graphical Abstract: Prevalent mutual activation between two species A and B as another positive feedback is added to a generic interlinked positive-feedback-loop model originating from many realistic biological circuits. A stochastic fluctuation of the positive feedback strength is introduced to investigate noise-induced bistable switching dynamics in a bistable interval of the positive feedback strength. Stability analysis based on the potential energy landscape is used to explore the noise-induced switching behavior of these two stable steady states. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]