Abstract
One approach to understanding how life-like properties emerge involves building synthetic cellular systems that mimic certain dynamical features of living cells such as bacteria. Here, we developed a model of a reaction network in a cellular system inspired by the ability of bacteria to form a biofilm in response to increasing cell density. Our aim was to determine the role of chemical feedback in the dynamics. The feedback was applied through the enzymatic rate dependence on pH, as pH is an important parameter that controls the rates of processes in cells. We found that a switch in pH can be used to drive base-catalyzed gelation or precipitation of a substance in the external solution. A critical density of cells was required for gelation that was essentially independent of the pH-driven feedback. However, the cell pH reached a higher maximum as a result of the appearance of pH oscillations with feedback. Thus, we conclude that while feedback may not play a vital role in some density-dependent behavior in cellular systems, it nevertheless can be exploited to activate internally regulated cell processes at low cell densities.
Highlights
Bacteria are arguably one of the most prolific forms of life on earth, capable of surviving the harshest of environmental conditions
Taking inspiration from bacteria, we developed a model to explore the role of feedback in a cellular system when the feedback is coupled to other process, such as gelation or precipitation of a substance in the external solution
The role of the feedback in the dynamics displayed in a single and amulti-cell single and multi-cell system connected to an external solution is explored below
Summary
Bacteria are arguably one of the most prolific forms of life on earth, capable of surviving the harshest of environmental conditions. The processes that allow bacteria to maintain homeostasis, adapt to changing environmental conditions, and switch between vastly different states in response to external stimuli are often driven by internal feedback mechanisms. Feedback is utilized to drive a sharp switch from single cell to multi-cellular behavior in a phenomenon known as quorum sensing [2]. Bacteria communicate by release and amplification of signaling species resulting in population-level responses such as the formation of biofilm above a threshold number or density [3]. The development of antimicrobial resistance or tolerance typically involves the formation of a biofilm driven by a quorum sensing mechanism
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