NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.

We present NUFEB (Newcastle University Frontiers in Engineering Biology), a flexible, efficient, and open source software for simulating the 3D dynamics of microbial communities. The tool is based on the Individual-based Modelling (IbM) approach, where microbes are represented as discrete units and...

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Main Authors: Bowen Li, Denis Taniguchi, Jayathilake Pahala Gedara, Valentina Gogulancea, Rebeca Gonzalez-Cabaleiro, Jinju Chen, Andrew Stephen McGough, Irina Dana Ofiteru, Thomas P Curtis, Paolo Zuliani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-12-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007125&type=printable
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author Bowen Li
Denis Taniguchi
Jayathilake Pahala Gedara
Valentina Gogulancea
Rebeca Gonzalez-Cabaleiro
Jinju Chen
Andrew Stephen McGough
Irina Dana Ofiteru
Thomas P Curtis
Paolo Zuliani
author_facet Bowen Li
Denis Taniguchi
Jayathilake Pahala Gedara
Valentina Gogulancea
Rebeca Gonzalez-Cabaleiro
Jinju Chen
Andrew Stephen McGough
Irina Dana Ofiteru
Thomas P Curtis
Paolo Zuliani
author_sort Bowen Li
collection DOAJ
description We present NUFEB (Newcastle University Frontiers in Engineering Biology), a flexible, efficient, and open source software for simulating the 3D dynamics of microbial communities. The tool is based on the Individual-based Modelling (IbM) approach, where microbes are represented as discrete units and their behaviour changes over time due to a variety of processes. This approach allows us to study population behaviours that emerge from the interaction between individuals and their environment. NUFEB is built on top of the classical molecular dynamics simulator LAMMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator), which we extended with IbM features. A wide range of biological, physical and chemical processes are implemented to explicitly model microbial systems, with particular emphasis on biofilms. NUFEB is fully parallelised and allows for the simulation of large numbers of microbes (107 individuals and beyond). The parallelisation is based on a domain decomposition scheme that divides the domain into multiple sub-domains which are distributed to different processors. NUFEB also offers a collection of post-processing routines for the visualisation and analysis of simulation output. In this article, we give an overview of NUFEB's functionalities and implementation details. We provide examples that illustrate the type of microbial systems NUFEB can be used to model and simulate.
format Article
id doaj-art-56d5cf548f5e4abb813363c97f5003da
institution OA Journals
issn 1553-734X
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language English
publishDate 2019-12-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Computational Biology
spelling doaj-art-56d5cf548f5e4abb813363c97f5003da2025-08-20T02:17:05ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582019-12-011512e100712510.1371/journal.pcbi.1007125NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.Bowen LiDenis TaniguchiJayathilake Pahala GedaraValentina GogulanceaRebeca Gonzalez-CabaleiroJinju ChenAndrew Stephen McGoughIrina Dana OfiteruThomas P CurtisPaolo ZulianiWe present NUFEB (Newcastle University Frontiers in Engineering Biology), a flexible, efficient, and open source software for simulating the 3D dynamics of microbial communities. The tool is based on the Individual-based Modelling (IbM) approach, where microbes are represented as discrete units and their behaviour changes over time due to a variety of processes. This approach allows us to study population behaviours that emerge from the interaction between individuals and their environment. NUFEB is built on top of the classical molecular dynamics simulator LAMMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator), which we extended with IbM features. A wide range of biological, physical and chemical processes are implemented to explicitly model microbial systems, with particular emphasis on biofilms. NUFEB is fully parallelised and allows for the simulation of large numbers of microbes (107 individuals and beyond). The parallelisation is based on a domain decomposition scheme that divides the domain into multiple sub-domains which are distributed to different processors. NUFEB also offers a collection of post-processing routines for the visualisation and analysis of simulation output. In this article, we give an overview of NUFEB's functionalities and implementation details. We provide examples that illustrate the type of microbial systems NUFEB can be used to model and simulate.https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007125&type=printable
spellingShingle Bowen Li
Denis Taniguchi
Jayathilake Pahala Gedara
Valentina Gogulancea
Rebeca Gonzalez-Cabaleiro
Jinju Chen
Andrew Stephen McGough
Irina Dana Ofiteru
Thomas P Curtis
Paolo Zuliani
NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
PLoS Computational Biology
title NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
title_full NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
title_fullStr NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
title_full_unstemmed NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
title_short NUFEB: A massively parallel simulator for individual-based modelling of microbial communities.
title_sort nufeb a massively parallel simulator for individual based modelling of microbial communities
url https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007125&type=printable
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