Repressilator

phase space

time

duration

20

production ratedivided bydegradation rate

2.4

repressor initial concentration

1

1.

2

1.

3

1.01

Hill function exponent

6

This Demonstration implements a mathematical model of the "repressilator" gene network. The repressilator consists of three genes, each of which represses the following gene. Because of the odd number of components in the circuit, there is a net negative feedback, which can give rise to oscillatory behavior (i.e. a limit cycle) for certain parameter values. The behavior can be visualized either as a function of time or in concentration phase space, where the three coordinates of each point represent the three repressor concentrations at a particular time.