Modeling metabolic networks of individual bacterial agents in heterogeneous and dynamic soil habitats (IndiMeSH)
Fig 1
Conceptual image of IndiMeSH model components and methods.
a) IndiMeSH uses two-dimensional angular pore networks representing soil cross-sections (here a soil aggregate) as a backbone for the aqueous phase configuration, chemical diffusion and as a habitat for bacteria represented as individual agents. Angular pores enable dual occupancy of both the water and gas phase within individual pores. Growth and nutrient consumption is calculated using metabolic networks, which enables the triggering of fundamentally different growth strategies depending on local nutrient and redox conditions. b) For the same pore network, aqueous phase configuration governed by the matric potential (wet and dry conditions) determines the connectivity and thus bacterial dispersal opportunities as well as nutrient diffusion characteristics by limiting water films held within the angular pores.