| Abstract: |
| In this talk, I will discuss the role of the lack of detailed balance in a class of stochastic kinetic proofreading models. Kinetic proofreading systems were proposed by Hopfield and Ninio in the 70s in order to explain the way in which receptors can distinguish between different ligands with a low error rate. This ability is referred to as specificity.
It was already suggested by Hopfield that in order to achieve high specificity, the system must spend energy, hence it should not satisfy the detailed balance property.
We prove the existence of a critical amount of lack of detailed balance that kinetic proofreading models must have in order to have strong specificity. |
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