Bifunctional transcriptional effector domains control gene expression pulses in an occupancy-dependent manner

Abstract

Dynamic gene expression pulses enable adaptive response to stimuli and can be generated in natural and synthetic systems. Controlling these dynamics typically involves circuits consisting of multiple genes and transcription factors (TFs). Here, we discover a new class of bifunctional transcriptional effector domains that can first activate and subsequently repress the same gene, producing dynamic gene expression pulses from a single input. These pulse dynamics arise from distinct, temporally separated chromatin states defined by active and repressive chromatin modifications. The balance between active and repressed states is determined by the DNA occupancy of the bifunctional TF. Bifunctional domains activate at low occupancy but switch to repression at high occupancy, resulting in a non-monotonic TF input-gene expression output relationship tunable by TF concentration and number of DNA binding sites. We develop a kinetic model that links TF occupancy to gene expression transitions, allowing for the programming of eight distinct cell "states" - combinations of On/Off states of 3 reporter genes - using a single bifunctional effector. This work establishes the theoretical framework and molecular mechanisms of pulse-generating gene regulation by bifunctional domains and creates a foundation for engineering complex multi-gene circuits.