Modeling the replication and transfer dynamics of bacterial plasmids in antibiotic resistance.

The sustained increase in plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance in recent years has driven the need to improve our understanding on the plasmid biology in order to generate more efficient drugs. In particular, it has been empirically demonstrated that plasmid transfer and replication play a very important role in the process. In this work, we focus on the role of plasmid transfer and replication rates in the outcome of infection. We formulate a system of ordinary differential equations to model the dynamics of competition between sensitive and resistant bacteria considering the transfer of genetic material through plasmids as the only mechanism for the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance. The results reveal scenarios that mainly depend on bacterial reproduction, immune response, treatment effectiveness, plasmid replication and plasmid transfer, in which bacterial progression can be eliminated, controlled or persisted within the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]