Article Dans Une Revue npj Systems Biology and Applications Année : 2024

An Allee-based distributed algorithm for microbial whole-cell sensors

Résumé

Reliable detection of substances present at potentially low concentrations is a problem common to many biomedical applications. Complementary to well-established enzyme-, antibody-antigen-, and sequencing-based approaches, so-called microbial whole-cell sensors, i.e., synthetically engineered microbial cells that sense and report substances, have been proposed as alternatives. Typically these cells operate independently: a cell reports an analyte upon local detection. In this work, we analyze a distributed algorithm for microbial whole-cell sensors, where cells communicate to coordinate if an analyte has been detected. The algorithm, inspired by the Allee effect in biological populations, causes cells to alternate between a logical 0 and 1 state in response to reacting with the particle of interest. When the cells in the logical 1 state exceed a threshold, the algorithm converts the remaining cells to the logical 1 state, representing an easily-detectable output signal. We validate the algorithm through mathematical analysis and simulations, demonstrating that it works correctly even in noisy cellular environments.

Dates et versions

hal-04786979 , version 1 (16-11-2024)

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Citer

Fabricio Cravo, Matthias Függer, Thomas Nowak. An Allee-based distributed algorithm for microbial whole-cell sensors. npj Systems Biology and Applications, 2024, 10 (1), pp.43. ⟨10.1038/s41540-024-00363-3⟩. ⟨hal-04786979⟩
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