Modeling the genome-wide transient response to stimuli in yeast: adaptation through integral feedback

At the level of gene expression, the response of yeast to various types of stresses/perturbations is characterized by a short-term transient followed by a return to the basal level (adaptation). A thorough investigation of the transient response to several different stimuli shows a common modulation, functionally and dynamically similar. The adaptation that follows the transient excursion is modeled by means of an integral feedback, with the gene product representing the variable that is fed back. The resulting linear system with input explains sufficiently well the different time constants observable in the transient response, while being in agreement with the known experimental mRNA turnover rates.