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Imaging gene expression: tiny signals make a big noise

Nature Chemical Biology volume 2, pages 181–182 (2006)Cite this article

The hypothesis of ubiquitous fluctuations in gene expression has spurred the development of general methods for tracking temporal changes in protein concentrations in individual cells. The determination of protein levels with single-molecule sensitivity represents a significant advancement in the monitoring of cellular behavior that is driven by gene expression.

Over the past decade, the notion of a 'noisy central dogma' has arisen from the convergence of live-cell measurement technologies and quantitative modeling aimed at describing gene expression. The underlying biochemical reactions involved in the dynamics of gene expression are inherently stochastic owing to the random nature of the binding and unbinding events in transcription and translation, along with the regulatory processes of activation and repression. These processes often involve a small number of reactant molecules, leading to relatively large fluctuations that can induce heterogeneous cellular responses during key biological processes1. Although several studies have demonstrated the existence and importance of expression variability arising from the small number of reactant molecules2,3, detection limitations of cellular assays have precluded the quantification of gene expression noise in most contexts. Recently, two methods have been developed by Xie and colleagues for interrogating protein expression in individual living cells with single-molecule sensitivity4,5. Stochastic bursts of protein production in live cells were observed in both studies using ultrasensitive protein detection techniques.

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Figure 1: Two novel techniques for monitoring gene expression with single-protein-molecule sensitivity.

Jessica Iannuzzi

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering

    Diane Longo & Jeff Hasty

  2. Department of Bioengineering and the Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, 92093, California, USA

    Diane Longo & Jeff Hasty

Authors
  1. Diane Longo
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  2. Jeff Hasty
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Longo, D., Hasty, J. Imaging gene expression: tiny signals make a big noise. Nat Chem Biol 2, 181–182 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0406-181

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0406-181

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