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Team:Heidelberg/Modeling
From 2008.igem.org
Modeling
Our modeling project is subdivided into two parts. The first subproject is concerned with the sensing network and the production of bacteria specific toxins as the killing mechanism. The second one deals with infection dynamics of bacterial cells by phages. For each subproject we derive a model consisting, respectively, of PDEs and ODEs. The equations describe the dynamics of prey and killer cells in the presence of chemical substances that represent the control over the system. Diffusion is taken into account only in the first model. Bacterial growth, cell death, chemical production and decay terms are for example included in the equations. Throughout mathematical analysis and various simulations we want to understand our system, be able to make predictions over its behavior and especially provide critical parameters and concentrations to the experimentalists in the lab. For example, we are currently trying to derive the conditions under which our system is asymptotically stable, so that the critical parameters can be accordingly regulated in the experiments. Of course we also want to prove that, at least theoretically, our system functions! At the moment, we are doing a thorough literature search to find realistic parameters to plug into our mathematical models, since a key aspect of modeling is indeed parameter estimation. We actually aim at helping the experimental groups in measuring the most important parameters, so we also look for suitable measurement protocols. We think that communication between our modeling group and the bench groups is vital and that we can serve as a connecting bridge between the different subgroups.
