A Compartmental Lateral Inhibition System to Generate Contrasting Patterns.

We propose a lateral inhibition system and analyze contrasting patterns of gene expression. The system consists of a set of compartments interconnected by channels. Each compartment contains a colony of cells that produce diffusible molecules to be detected by the neighboring colonies. Each cell is equipped with an inhibitory circuit that reduces its production when the detected signal is sufficiently strong. We characterize the parameter range in which steady-state patterns emerge.