Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 14: Poster Session II
BP 14.15: Poster
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 18:00–21:00, P2
Agent-based modeling of short range cell-cell communication — •Ricardo Santander1,3, Noam Golan2, Lior Kreindler2, Avigdor Eldar2, and Vasily Zaburdaev1,3 — 1Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, Germany — 2School of Molecular Cell Biology & Biotechnology Tel Aviv University, Israel — 3Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany
We use agent-based simulations to model synthetic gene regulatory networks that mediate short-range cell-cell communication in bacterial monolayers. These circuits couple intracellular dynamics of transcription factors and inhibitors with extracellular concentration fields driven by diffusion, secretion, and uptake of signaling peptides. Individual bacteria are represented as elongating, dividing capsules that act as point-like sources and sinks shaping the extracellular concentration field. The model is nondimensionalized to expose key parameter groups that govern the balance between secretion, import, diffusion, and dilution. Simulations reproduce the influence of nearby inhibitor-producing cells on their neighbors observed in microfluidic experiments and provide detailed insight into how spatial organization and transporter-driven accumulation control signaling range, spatial patterns, and circuit behavior in dense bacterial populations
Keywords: Cell signalling; Bacterial monolayer; Diffusion-reaction; point-like sources