9616006 Bourret Technical All living cells contain elaborate information processing systems that continuously monitor important parameters in their external environment and implement an appropriate response to changing conditions. Complete analysis of the complicated networks of interconnected chemical reactions that make up signaling circuits will likely require detailed computer simulations. This investigator has set up a computer model (BCT) of bacteria chemotaxis, and proposes here to evaluate and improve this model. Some important parameters will be measured to replace some assumptions in the current model, and the accuracy of the simulation will be tested by comparing computer generated predictions with experimental measurements. Any discrepancies will indicate areas which need further study. The adaptive response will be incorporated into a new version of the BCT. This research will improve our understanding of information processing in bacteria, and will provide the scientific community with a model to formulate simulations of signaling circuits. Non-technical This proposal is to improve and experimentally evaluate a computer model of chemotaxis in bacteria. Models of this nature will be valuable in understanding signaling networks in biological systems. ***
