Knowledge-based simulation of regulatory action in lambda phage

Abstract

We have developed a knowledge-based, discrete-event simulation system to simulate proteins-regulated genetic action in lambda phage. Lambda phage is a kind of virus which infects Escherichia coli (E. Coli). Specifically, we simulate the decision between two developmental pathways, that is, lytic growth and lysogenic growth on such conditions as mutation. The novelty of this work is the employment of two different levels of abstraction in a genetic model for the purpose of achieving greater precision. Our model is composed of a roughly abstracted level for the noncritical parts which constitute most parts of our model, and a precisely abstracted level for the critical parts. In the former level, our model is a discrete-event simulation in qualitative representation on a knowledge-based system. In the latter level, it is based on reaction formulae in quantitative representation.<>