Time-sharing in Resource-Limited Biological Systems: An Exploration of Anti-phase Oscillations and Ribosome Competition

This thesis investigates the possibility of observing anti-phase oscillation dynamics in biological systems with a limited resource pool, such as ribosomes. The interest lies in understanding how competition for limited resources can drive temporal coordination, optimizing resource utilization and potentially enhancing protein synthesis and cellular growth. The research draws inspiration from two key studies. The first study by Nordick et al. presents a mathematical model, MMI2-SSB, which shows how RNA degradation and noise can generate sustained oscillations in mRNA and miRNA concentrations, even without explicit feedback loops. This demonstrates how post-transcriptional interactions can maintain complex cellular dynamics. The second study by Liu et al. shows how two Bacillus subtilis biofilms alternate glutamate consumption under nutrient scarcity, using an anti-phase oscillatory mechanism called "time-sharing," which improves growth efficiency despite competition. The central hypothesis of this thesis is that by modifying the MMI2-SSB model to simulate two independent systems sharing a common pool of ribosomes, anti-phase oscillations similar to those observed in the biofilms can emerge. This ribosome competition could foster temporal coordination, suggesting an adaptive advantage for optimizing protein synthesis under resource-limited conditions.