An Algorithm for the Stochastic Simulation of Gene Expression and Heterogeneous Population Dynamics

Abstract

We present an algorithm for the stochastic simulation of gene expression and heterogeneous population dynamics. The algorithm combines an exact method to simulate molecular-level fluc-tuations in single cells and a constant-number Monte Carlo method to simulate time-dependent statistical characteristics of growing cell populations. To benchmark performance, we compare simulation results with steady-state and time-dependent analytical solutions for several scenar-ios, including steady-state and time-dependent gene expression, and the effects on population heterogeneity of cell growth, division, and DNA replication. This comparison demonstrates that the algorithm provides an efficient and accurate approach to simulate how complex biological features influence gene expression. We also use the algorithm to model gene expression dynam-ics within ‘bet-hedging ’ cell populations during their adaption to environmental stress. These simulations indicate that the algorithm provides a framework suitable for simulating and analyz-ing realistic models of heterogeneous population dynamics combining molecular-level stochastic reaction kinetics, relevant physiological details and phenotypic variability.