Assessment of Robustness to Temperature in a Negative Feedback Loop and a Feedforward Loop

Abstract

Robustness to temperature variation is an important specification in biomolecular circuit design. While the cancellation of parametric temperature dependencies has been shown to improve the temperature robustness of the period in a synthetic oscillator design, the performance of other biomolecular circuit designs in different temperature conditions is relatively unclear. Using a combination of experimental measurements and mathematical models, we assessed the temperature robustness of two biomolecular circuit motifs—a negative feedback loop and a feedforward loop. We found that the measured responses of both the circuits changed with temperature, both in the amplitude and in the transient response. We also found that, in addition to the cancellation of parametric temperature dependencies, certain parameter regimes could facilitate the temperature robustness of the negative feedback loop, although at a performance cost. We discuss these parameter regimes in the context of the measured data for the negative feedback loop. These results should help develop a framework for assessing and designing temperature robustness in biomolecular circuits.