title: Modelling three-dimensional fungal growth in response to environmental stimuli.
abstract: Most fungi grow by developing complex networks that enable the translocation of nutrients over large distances. Spatially explicit mathematical models are able to capture both the complexity of the fungal network and the biomass evolution, as such providing a powerful alternative to classical modelling paradigms. Unfortunately, most of these models restrict growth to two dimensions or confine it to a lattice, thereby resulting in unrealistic representations of fungal networks. In addition, interactions between fungi and their environment are often neglected. In response, this work presents a lattice-free three-dimensional fungal growth model that accounts for the interactions between the in silico fungus and different substrates and media. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify the key model parameters for future calibration. Finally, a scenario analysis covering a variety of growth conditions was conducted to illustrate the broad scope of the model and its ability to replicate in situ growth scenarios.
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: guillermo.vidal@ugent.be.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vidal-Diez de Ulzurrun
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: jan.baetens@ugent.be.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Baetens
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: jan.vandenbulcke@ugent.be.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van den Bulcke
authors.affiliation: KERMIT, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: bernard.debaets@ugent.be.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Baets
mesh_terms: D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development*; D008954:Models, Biological
keywords: Fungal growth; Fungal growth scenarios; Fungal network; Lattice-free model; Spatially explicit modelling; Tropisms