Robustness for Stability and Stabilization of Boolean Networks With Stochastic Function Perturbations

In genetic regulatory networks (GRNs), gene mutations often occur in a stochastic manner. As an important model of GRNs, gene mutations of Boolean networks are always described as function perturbations. This article studies the robust stability and stabilization of Boolean networks with stochastic function perturbations. A kind of parameterized set is constructed, and it is revealed that under the stochastic function perturbations, the property of finite-time stability remains unchanged when the perturbed set and the parameterized set are disjoint. In addition, it is proved that the finite-time stability is reduced to stability in distribution when the intersection of perturbed set and complement set of parameterized set is nonempty. As an application, the robust stabilization problem of Boolean control networks with stochastic function perturbations is discussed, and several necessary and sufficient conditions are presented for the robustness of feedback stabilizers. Finally, the obtained results are used to study the Drosophila melanogaster segmentation polarity gene network and the lac operon in the bacterium Escherichia coil.