Design principles and control mechanisms of signal transduction networks [Elektronische Ressource] / von Bernd Binder

Design principles and control mechanisms ofsignal transduction networksD I S S E R T A T I O Nzur Erlangung des akademischen Gradesdoctor rerum naturalium(Dr. rer. nat.)im Fach Biologieeingereicht an derMathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultat IHumboldt-Universitat zu BerlinvonHerr Dipl.-Phys.BerndBindergeboren am 06.08.1970 in IlshofenPrasident der Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin:Prof. Dr. MlynekDekan der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultat I:Prof. Thomas Buckhout, PhDGutachter:1. Prof. Dr. Reinhart Heinrich2. Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Herzel3. Prof. Dr. Thomas Hofereingereicht am: 31. Januar 2005Tag der mundlichen Prufung: 31. Marz 2005iiIgnorance more frequently begets con dence than does knowledge: it is those who knowlittle, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem willnever be solved by science.Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1871iiiivAbstractThisworkisbasedonthehypothesisthatsignaltransductionnetworksinlivingcellsarethe result of an evolutionary development which is governed by mutation mechanismsand natural selection principles. This concerns their structural design as well as kineticparameters. Therefore, it can be assumed that these properties have adopted valueswhich imply certain optimal features with respect to the biological function of signaltransduction.