Frontiers in Microbiology (Nov 2021)

Mathematical Models of Plasmid Population Dynamics

  • José Carlos Ramón Hernández-Beltrán,
  • Alvaro San Millán,
  • Ayari Fuentes-Hernández,
  • Rafael Peña-Miller

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.606396
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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With plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance thriving and threatening to become a serious public health problem, it is paramount to increase our understanding of the forces that enable the spread and maintenance of drug resistance genes encoded in mobile genetic elements. The relevance of plasmids as vehicles for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes, in addition to the extensive use of plasmid-derived vectors for biotechnological and industrial purposes, has promoted the in-depth study of the molecular mechanisms controlling multiple aspects of a plasmids’ life cycle. This body of experimental work has been paralleled by the development of a wealth of mathematical models aimed at understanding the interplay between transmission, replication, and segregation, as well as their consequences in the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plasmid-bearing bacterial populations. In this review, we discuss theoretical models of plasmid dynamics that span from the molecular mechanisms of plasmid partition and copy-number control occurring at a cellular level, to their consequences in the population dynamics of complex microbial communities. We conclude by discussing future directions for this exciting research topic.

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