Oscillation, cooperativity, and intermediates in the self-repressing gene

Biological oscillators are vital to living organisms, which use them as clocks for time-sensitive processes. However, much is unknown about mechanisms which can give rise to coherent oscillatory behavior, with few exceptions (e.g., explicitly delayed self-repressors and simple models of specific organisms’ circadian clocks). We present what may be the simplest possible reliable gene network oscillator, a self-repressing gene. We show that binding cooperativity, which has not been considered in detail in this context, can combine with small numbers of intermediate steps to create coherent oscillation. We also note that noise blurs the line between oscillatory and non-oscillatory behavior.