Partially Observable Gene Regulatory Network Control without a Boundary on Horizon

Abstract

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) govern the protein transcription process in the cell and interactions among genes play a vital role in determining the biosynthesis rate of proteins. By using intervention techniques discovered by biological research it is possible to control a GRN, thus promoting or demoting the expression rate of a certain gene. In this work, this control task is studied in a partially observable setting where interventions lack perfect knowledge of the expression level of all genes. Moreover, we formulated the task as a lifelong control problem and developed a more flexible and scalable method than the alternatives described in the literature.