Bayesian inference of PolII dynamics over the exclusion process
Massimo Cavallaro, Yuexuan Wang, Daniel Hebenstreit, Ritabrata Dutta · arXiv (Cornell University) · 2021
Transcription is a complex phenomenon that permits the conversion of genetic information into phenotype by means of an enzyme called PolII, which erratically moves along and scans the DNA template. We perform Bayesian inference over a paradigmatic mechanistic model of non-equilibrium statistical physics, i.e., the asymmetric exclusion processes in the hydrodynamic limit, assuming a Gaussian process prior for the PolII progression rate as a latent variable. Our framework allows us to infer the speed of PolIIs during transcription given their spatial distribution, whilst avoiding the explicit inversion of the system's dynamics. The results may have implications for the understanding of gene expression.