Effects of spatial heterogeneity on bacterial genetic circuits

Intracellular spatial heterogeneity is frequently observed in bacteria, where the chromosome occupies part of the cell’s volume and a circuit’s DNA often localizes within the cell. How this heterogeneity affects core processes and genetic circuits is still poorly understood. In fact, commonly used ordinary differential equation (ODE) models of genetic circuits assume a well-mixed ensemble of molecules and, as such, do not capture spatial aspects. Reaction-diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) models have been only occasionally used since they are difficult to integrate and do not provide mechanistic understanding of the effects of spatial heterogeneity. In this paper, we derive a reduced ODE model that captures spatial effects, yet has the same dimension as commonly used well-mixed models. In particular, the only difference with respect to a well-mixed ODE model is that the association rate constant of binding reactions is multiplied by a coefficient, which we refer to as the binding correction factor (BCF). The BCF depends on the size of interacting molecules and on their location when fixed in space and it is equal to unity in a well-mixed ODE model. The BCF can be used to investigate how spatial heterogeneity affects the behavior of core processes and genetic circuits. Specifically, our reduced model indicates that transcription and its regulation are more effective for genes located at the cell poles than for genes located on the chromosome. The extent of these effects depends on the value of the BCF, which we found to be close to unity. For translation, the value of the BCF is always greater than unity, it increases with mRNA size, and, with biologically relevant parameters, is substantially larger than unity. Our model has broad validity, has the same dimension as a well-mixed model, yet it incorporates spatial heterogeneity. This simple-to-use model can be used to both analyze and design genetic circuits while accounting for spatial intracellular effects.Abstract FigureHighlightsIntracellular spatial heterogeneity modulates the effective association rate constant of binding reactions through a binding correction factor (BCF) that fully captures spatial effectsThe BCF depends on molecules size and location (if fixed) and can be determined experimentallySpatial heterogeneity may be detrimental or exploited for genetic circuit designTraditional well-mixed models can be appropriate despite spatial heterogeneityStatement of significanceA general and simple modeling framework to determine how spatial heterogeneity modulates the dynamics of gene networks is currently lacking. To this end, this work provides a simple-to-use ordinary differential equation (ODE) model that can be used to both analyze and design genetic circuits while accounting for spatial intracellular effects. We apply our model to several core biological processes and determine that transcription and its regulation are more effective for genes located at the cell poles than for genes located on the chromosome and this difference increases with regulator size. For translation, we predict the effective binding between ribosomes and mRNA is higher than that predicted by a well-mixed model, and it increases with mRNA size. We provide examples where spatial effects are significant and should be considered but also where a traditional well-mixed model suffices despite severe spatial heterogeneity. Finally, we illustrate how the operation of well-known genetic circuits is impacted by spatial effects.