Canalization as a stabilizing principle of gene regulatory networks: a discrete dynamical systems perspective

Gene regulatory networks exhibit remarkable stability, maintaining functional phenotypes despite genetic and environmental perturbations. Discrete dynamical models, such as Boolean networks, provide systems biologists with a tractable framework to explore the mathematical underpinnings of this robustness. A key mechanism conferring stability is canalization. This perspective synthesizes historical insights, formal definitions of canalization in discrete dynamical models, quantitative measures of stability, illustrative applications, and emerging challenges at the interface of theory and experiment.