Abstract
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria. Lytic phages cause the bacterial cell to burst, killing the bacteria. These types of phages can be used to treat patients with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. As a step in developing successful treatment protocols, we aim to understand the population dynamics of phages and bacteria using an in vitro model. We model the dynamics using the Campbell model, which consist of a delay differential equation (DDE), as a base model. We extended the model by including the emergence of phage resistance. We then compared the DDE model with a parallel ordinary differential equation (ODE) model. We applied several parameter estimation methods to the ODE model, such as local sensitivity analysis, sensitivity-based identifiability, and a local optimization method to fit experimental data. We compared the ODE model to the DDE model and found that the ODE model better captures the data, allowing us to move forward with the ODE formulation.
Recommended Citation
Palacios, John Lawrence and Segal, Rebecca A.
(2025)
"Exploration of Differential Equation Models for Phage-Bacteria Population Dynamics,"
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics: Vol. 11, 36–47.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61403/2473-5493.1098
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/spora/vol11/iss1/4
