Modeling of Bacterial Communication in the Extended Range of Population Dynamics
Yuhan Shuai, Anna Maslovskaya, Christina Kuttler
Abstract
”Quorum sensing” as a special kind of communication in bacterial populations can be analyzed by means of methods and techniques of mathematical modeling and computer simulation. In the present study, a modification of a deterministic mathematical model of bacterial quorum sensing is proposed, taking into account the law of multiphase population dynamics. The mathematical model is formalized by an initial-boundary value problem for a system of semilinear reaction-diffusion partial differential equations. The equations include generation terms in view of changes in the biomass density. The model describes space-time dynamics of concentrations of special substances (signaling agents and Lactonase enzymes) that characterize the quorum sensing in Gram-negative bacteria. The problem is solved by means of the finite element method using the COMSOL Multiphysics platform. Computational experiments are performed to estimate concentrations of key substances characterizing quorum sensing for Pseudomonas putida bacterial strains in an expanded range of population dynamics.