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arXiv · 1507.07668

Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability

Chi Zhang·Li-Wei Liu·Long-Fei Wang·Yuan Yue·Lian-Chun Yu
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Abstract

Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this paper, we calculated the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculated the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We found that the optimal number of units could maximize this array's energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.

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Chi Zhang, Li-Wei Liu, Long-Fei Wang, Yuan Yue, Lian-Chun Yu. 2015-07-28. Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability. https://doi.org/10.1088/0256-307x%2F32%2F11%2F110501

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