Transitions in the cell-fate induction induced by colored noise associated with the inductive stimulus

The cell-fate induction based on the saddle-node bifurcation is undoubtedly a very important concept in developmental biology, which provides a possible mechanism to explain the intrinsic irreversibility in the developmental process. In this paper, the effect of a colored noise, which is associated with the inductive stimulus, on the saddle-node landscape of cell-fate induction is investigated, especially, the effect of the change of correlation time of colored noise on cell-fate induction. The main results show clearly that the change of correlation time of colored noise could induce the transitions of the system. This implies that the colored noise associated with inductive stimulus may have a profound effect on the saddle-node bifurcation landscape of cell-fate induction. This will also help us to understand more deeply the role of cell-fate induction in developmental biology. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.