Model intestinal microflora in computer simulation: a simulation and modeling package for host-microflora interactions

The ecology of the human intestinal microflora and its interaction with the host are poorly understood. Though more and more data are being acquired, in part using modern molecular methods, development of a quantitative theory has not kept pace with this increase in observing power. This is in part due to the complexity of the system and to the lack of simulation environments in which to test what the ecological effect of a hypothetical mechanism of interaction would be, before resorting to laboratory experiments. The MIMICS project attempts to address this through the development of a cellular automaton for simulation of the intestinal microflora. In this paper, the design and evaluation of this simulator is discussed.