Are microbes intelligent beings?: An assessment of cybernetic modeling.

Patnaik, P R (2000) Are microbes intelligent beings?: An assessment of cybernetic modeling. Biotechnology advances, 18 (4). pp. 267-88. ISSN 0734-9750

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Abstract

Microorganisms growing in a multi-substrate medium have different and varying preferences for the various components of the medium. The preferences depend on the operating conditions and the substrates may be utilized sequentially or simultaneously. Sometimes an organism may change its preferences among substrates and/or switch between sequential and simultaneous utilization. These aspects are difficult to describe through models based on chemical and physical laws alone. Cybernetic modeling ascribes to microorganisms the ability to perceive their environment (i.e. the growth medium) and make 'intelligent' choices regarding substrate utilization to maximize an objective, which is usually the growth rate. This article reviews the development of cybernetic modeling since it began in 1982. Different workers have suggested different perspectives of how microbes make optimal use of their resources. These are discussed and future directions for improvement are indicated.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Microbial growth; Metabolic modeling; Cybernetic modeling
Subjects:	Q Science > QR Microbiology
Depositing User:	Dr. K.P.S.Sengar
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2012 14:56
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2012 14:56
URI:	http://crdd.osdd.net/open/id/eprint/230

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