Postponing production exponentially enhances the molecular memory of a stochastic switch

Abstract

Delayed production can substantially alter the qualitative behaviour of feedback systems. Motivated by stochastic mechanisms in gene expression, we consider a protein molecule which is produced in randomly timed bursts, requires an exponentially distributed time to activate, and then partakes in positive regulation of its burst frequency. Asymptotically analysing the underlying master equation in the large-delay regime, we provide tractable approximations to time-dependent probability distributions of molecular copy numbers. Importantly, the presented analysis demonstrates that positive feedback systems with large production delays can constitute a stable toggle switch even if they operate with low copy numbers of active molecules.