# Physical limits on computation by assemblies of allosteric proteins

Source: [Physical limits on computation by assemblies of allosteric proteins](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa27ff2c2a3760193c6243>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-28T13:52:49.721Z

Authors: John M. Robinson

Published: 2008-02-07T18:22:06.000Z

## Abstract

Assemblies of allosteric proteins, nano-scale Brownian computers, are the principle information processing devices in biology. The troponin C-troponin I (TnC-TnI) complex, the Ca$^{2+}$-sensitive regulatory switch of the heart, is a paradigm for Brownian computation. TnC and TnI specialize in sensing (reading) and reporting (writing) tasks of computation. We have examined this complex using a newly developed phenomenological model of allostery. Nearest-neighbor-limited interactions among members of the assembly place previously unrecognized constrains the topology of the system's free energy landscape and generate degenerate transition probabilities. As a result, signaling fidelity and deactivation kinetics can not be simultaneously optimized. This trade-off places an upper limit on the rate of information processing by assemblies of allosteric proteins that couple to a single ligand chemical bath.

## Recorded benchmark results

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## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/0802.1034>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/0802.1034.pdf>)