Genetic and protein networks, through their underlying dynamical behavior, characterize structural and functional cellular processes, and are thus regarded as "driving forces" of all living systems. Understanding the rhythm generation mechanisms that emerge from such complex networks has benefited in recent years by synthetic approaches, through which simpler network modules (e.g., switches and oscillators) have been built. In this manner, a significant attention to date has been focused on the dynamical behavior of these isolated synthetic circuits, and the occurrence of unifying rhythms in systems of globally coupled genetic units. In contrast to this, we address here the question: Could topologically distinct structures enhance the presence of various dynamical regimes in synthetic networks? We show that an intercellular mechanism, engineered to operate on a local scale, will inevitably lead to multirhythmicity, and to the appearance of several coexisting (complex) dynamical regimes, if certain preconditions regarding the dynamical structure of the synthetic circuits are met. Moreover, we discuss the importance of regime enhancement in synthetic structures in terms of memory storage and computation capabilities.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics.