Noise distorts the epigenetic landscape and shapes cell-fate decisions

Abstract

Waddington’s epigenetic landscape provides a conceptual tool and, increasingly, analytical framework for the study of cell differentiation. While the role of noise in cell biology has been amply documented, the repercussions of stochasticity on the landscape and the differentiation dynamics has received only scant attention. Here, we show that noise shapes the landscape profoundly and is even capable of changing qualitative features of the cell differentiation dynamics. It also limits our ability to learn regulatory processes from single-cell data. Coomer et al., 2022, Cell Systems 13, 83–102 January 19, 2022 ª 2021 Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2021.09.002 ll