Qualitative Control Strategies for Synchronization of Bistable Gene Regulatory Networks
Nicolas Augier, Madalena Chaves, Jean‐Luc Gouzé
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the emergent dynamics in a network of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math></inline-formula> coupled cells, each expressing a similar genetic bistable switch. The bistable switch is modeled as a piecewise affine system and the cells are diffusively coupled. We show that both the coupling topology and the strength of the diffusion parameter may introduce new steady-state patterns in the network. We study the synchronization properties of the coupled network and, using a control set of only three possible values ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$u_{\min}$</tex-math></inline-formula> , <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$u_{\max}$</tex-math></inline-formula> , or 1), propose different control strategies which stabilize the system into a chosen synchronization pattern, both in the weak and strong coupling regimes. The results are illustrated by several numerical examples.