A Mathematical Model of a Denitrification Metabolic Network in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes in North America, has witnessed recurrent summertime low oxygen dead zones for decades. This is a yearly phenomenon that causes microbial production of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from denitrification. Complete denitrification is a microbial process of reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas via nitrite, nitric oxide, and greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. After scanning the microbial community in Lake Erie, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is decided to be examined, not because it is abundant in Lake Erie, but because it can perform denitrification under anaerobic conditions. This study focuses on a mathematical model of the metabolic network in Pseudomonas aeruginosa under denitrification and testable hypotheses generation using polynomial dynamical systems and stochastic discrete dynamical systems. Analysis of the long-term behavior of the system changing the concentration level of oxygen, nitrate, and phosphate suggests that phosphate highly affects the denitrification performance of the network.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mathematics

Department dc:contributor.department

Mathematics

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Arat, Seda

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Laubenbacher, Reinhard C.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Burns, John A.
• Ciupe, Stanca M.

• Discrete Models
• Systems Biology
• Dynamical Systems

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-12142012-115546

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/46208