Speaker: Peter Swain (University of Edinburgh)

Title: Microbial decision-making: decyphering noisy signals with noisy machinery

Abstract: Stochasticity pervades life at the cellular level. Cells receive stochastic signals, perform detection and transduction with stochastic biochemistry, and grow and die in stochastic environments. I will argue that cellular decision-making is probabilistic. Using calculations from idealized models and studies of the mating response in budding yeast, I will discuss the mechanism of signal transduction in a scaffolded MAP kinase cascade and whether we should consider such signal transduction as implementing a form of statistical inference.