MULTISTAGED CORPUSCULAR MODELS OF MICROBIAL-GROWTH - MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS

A new framework is developed by extending the existing population bala nce framework for modeling the growth of microbial populations. The ne w class of multistaged corpuscular models allows further structuring o f the microbial life cycle into separate phases or stages and thus fac ilitates the incorporation of cell cycle phenomena to population model s. These multistaged models consist of systems of population balance e quations coupled by appropriate boundary conditions, The specific form of the equations depend on the assumed forms for the transition rate functions, the growth rate functions, and the partitioning function, w hich determines how the biological material is distributed at division . A growth model for ciliated protozoa is formulated to demonstrate th e proposed framework. To obtain a solution to the system of the partia l integro differential equations that results from such formulation, w e adopted a Monte Carlo simulation technique which is very, stable, ve rsatile, and insensitive to the complexity of the model. The theory an d implementation of the Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is analyzed a nd results from the simulation of the ciliate growth model are present ed. The proposed approach seems to be promising for integrating single -cell mechanisms into population models.