A General Model for Toxin-Antitoxin Module Dynamics Can Explain Persister Cell Formation in E. coli
Figure 8
Growth rate modulation can cause an increase in the amount of persisters during nutritional stress.
Panel A describes the probability distribution of the fitness landscapes (left) and the correlation between spike duration and spike amplitude (right) for the normal parameter set and the parameter set in which the growth rate is halved, in the model with interacting binding sites on the operator. The corresponding normalized average growth rate R and transfer rates from normal to persister state are shown. ,
,
and
. Panel B shows the time evolution of the persister fraction, starting from two different initial conditions, using
and
. In panel C, parameter scans for a versus b show the persister fraction.