Reinforcement learning for adaptive control of phenotypically heterogeneous bacterial populations.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial populations display extraordinary resilience to antibiotic stress, driven by diverse physiological states that allow some cells to persist and later repopulate. This phenotypic heterogeneity, amplified by environmental fluctuations, undermines the effectiveness of conventional fixed-dose treatment regimens. To address this challenge, we introduce a reinforcement learning (RL) framework that discovers adaptive treatment strategies using only experimentally accessible, population-level measurements. The RL agent learns to infer the hidden physiological state of the population and leverages this knowledge to maintain control even under conditions not encountered during training. Moreover, when granted control over nutrient availability, an important driver of physiological change of

SUBMITTER: Kratz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12697725 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature