Piecewise-linear models of genetic regulatory networks: Theory and example

The experimental study of genetic regulatory networks has made tremendous progress in recent years resulting in a huge amount of data on the molecular interactions in model organisms. It is therefore not possible anymore to intuitively understand how the genes and interactions together influence the behavior of the system. In order to answer such questions, a rigorous modeling and analysis approach is necessary. In this chapter, we present a family of such models and analysis methods enabling us to better understand the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks. We apply such methods to the network that underlies the nutritional stress response of the bacterium E. coli.