  Cellular decision making is based on regulatory circuits that associate
signal thresholds to specific physiological actions. This transmission of
information is subjected to molecular noise what can decrease its fidelity.
Here, we show instead how such intrinsic noise enhances information transfer in
the presence of multiple circuit copies. The result is due to the contribution
of noise to the generation of autonomous responses by each copy, which are
altogether associated with a common decision. Moreover, factors that correlate
the responses of the redundant units (extrinsic noise or regulatory cross-talk)
contribute to reduce fidelity, while those that further uncouple them
(heterogeneity within the copies) can lead to stronger information gain.
Overall, our study emphasizes how the interplay of signal thresholding,
redundancy, and noise influences the accuracy of cellular decision making.
Understanding this interplay provides a basis to explain collective cell
signaling mechanisms, and to engineer robust decisions with noisy genetic
circuits.
