Abstract
The formal analysis of the toggle switch, which is among the most common motifs of genetic networks, shows that along with the powerful development of mathematical modelling, formal methods can be of great help in investigating the properties of genetic networks. In particular, a general approach to modelling genetic networks through the language of higher-order logic is advanced and mechanised in the theorem prover Isabelle. An inductive definition provides a formal model for the genetic toggle as the set of all possible evolutions of such network. Gene polymerase and protein concentration are formalised as primitive recursive functions. The main properties of the genetic toggle are confirmed upon the model: it is possible that one protein exceeds a stated concentration threshold and the other protein does not; it is impossible that both proteins exceed their respective concentration thresholds at the same time. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first contribution of theorem proving in the area of genetic network analysis, and as such may set the foundations for a new niche of research.
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Bella, G., Liò, P. (2009). Formal Analysis of the Genetic Toggle. In: Degano, P., Gorrieri, R. (eds) Computational Methods in Systems Biology. CMSB 2009. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 5688. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03845-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03845-7_7
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