--- res: bibo_abstract: - In developing organisms, spatially prescribed cell identities are thought to be determined by the expression levels of multiple genes. Quantitative tests of this idea, however, require a theoretical framework capable of exposing the rules and precision of cell specification over developmental time. We use the gap gene network in the early fly embryo as an example to show how expression levels of the four gap genes can be jointly decoded into an optimal specification of position with 1% accuracy. The decoder correctly predicts, with no free parameters, the dynamics of pair-rule expression patterns at different developmental time points and in various mutant backgrounds. Precise cellular identities are thus available at the earliest stages of development, contrasting the prevailing view of positional information being slowly refined across successive layers of the patterning network. Our results suggest that developmental enhancers closely approximate a mathematically optimal decoding strategy.@eng bibo_authorlist: - foaf_Person: foaf_givenName: Mariela D. foaf_name: Petkova, Mariela D. foaf_surname: Petkova - foaf_Person: foaf_givenName: Gasper foaf_name: Tkacik, Gasper foaf_surname: Tkacik foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 orcid: 0000-0002-6699-1455 - foaf_Person: foaf_givenName: William foaf_name: Bialek, William foaf_surname: Bialek - foaf_Person: foaf_givenName: Eric F. foaf_name: Wieschaus, Eric F. foaf_surname: Wieschaus - foaf_Person: foaf_givenName: Thomas foaf_name: Gregor, Thomas foaf_surname: Gregor bibo_doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.007 bibo_issue: '4' bibo_volume: 176 dct_date: 2019^xs_gYear dct_identifier: - UT:000457969200015 dct_language: eng dct_publisher: Cell Press@ dct_title: Optimal decoding of cellular identities in a genetic network@ fabio_hasPubmedId: '30712870' ...