TY  - JOUR
AU  - Owolabi, Kolade M.
AU  - Maré, Eben 
AU  - Ijalana, Clara O.
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/27
TI  - Chemotaxis–Reaction Models in Microbial Ecology: Theory, Analysis, and Applications
JO  - Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics and Applications
T2  - Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics and Applications
JF  - Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics and Applications
VL  - 2
IS  - 2
SP  - 76
EP  - 107
DO  - 10.62762/JNDA.2026.783618
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JNDA.2026.783618
KW  - Keller-Segel model
KW  - Chemotaxis
KW  - reaction-diffusion systems
KW  - lyapunov stability
KW  - pattern formation
KW  - nonlinear PDEs
KW  - microbial ecology
AB  - Chemotaxis, the directed movement of microorganisms in response to chemical gradients, plays a pivotal role in microbial ecology. This article provides a comprehensive review of mathematical models that couple chemotaxis with reaction dynamics to describe microbial population behavior. We discuss how such chemotaxis–reaction models capture essential ecological phenomena, from nutrient foraging and biofilm formation to inter-species competition and environmental processes. Key model formulations, starting from the classical Keller--Segel system, are presented alongside extensions incorporating multiple species, complex reaction terms, and fluid flow coupling. We survey rigorous mathematical results on well-posedness, pattern formation, and stability, highlighting analytical tools in partial differential equations (PDEs) and functional analysis. Numerical simulation techniques are reviewed, illustrating how computational methods can capture chemotactic pattern formation. Biological applications are emphasized throughout, drawing connections between model predictions and experimental observations of bacterial aggregation patterns, biofilm spatial structure, and microbial competition. Finally, we outline open problems and future directions, including stochastic modeling, multiscale approaches, and data-driven techniques, underscoring the interdisciplinary outlook. The contributions of this article lie in synthesizing recent advances in chemotaxis–reaction modeling and analysis, and in elucidating the interplay between theory and experiment in microbial ecology.
SN  - 3069-6313
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  - 

@article{Owolabi2026Chemotaxis,
  author = {Kolade M. Owolabi and Eben Maré and Clara O. Ijalana},
  title = {Chemotaxis–Reaction Models in Microbial Ecology: Theory, Analysis, and Applications},
  journal = {Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics and Applications},
  year = {2026},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {76-107},
  doi = {10.62762/JNDA.2026.783618},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JNDA.2026.783618},
  abstract = {Chemotaxis, the directed movement of microorganisms in response to chemical gradients, plays a pivotal role in microbial ecology. This article provides a comprehensive review of mathematical models that couple chemotaxis with reaction dynamics to describe microbial population behavior. We discuss how such chemotaxis–reaction models capture essential ecological phenomena, from nutrient foraging and biofilm formation to inter-species competition and environmental processes. Key model formulations, starting from the classical Keller--Segel system, are presented alongside extensions incorporating multiple species, complex reaction terms, and fluid flow coupling. We survey rigorous mathematical results on well-posedness, pattern formation, and stability, highlighting analytical tools in partial differential equations (PDEs) and functional analysis. Numerical simulation techniques are reviewed, illustrating how computational methods can capture chemotactic pattern formation. Biological applications are emphasized throughout, drawing connections between model predictions and experimental observations of bacterial aggregation patterns, biofilm spatial structure, and microbial competition. Finally, we outline open problems and future directions, including stochastic modeling, multiscale approaches, and data-driven techniques, underscoring the interdisciplinary outlook. The contributions of this article lie in synthesizing recent advances in chemotaxis–reaction modeling and analysis, and in elucidating the interplay between theory and experiment in microbial ecology.},
  keywords = {Keller-Segel model, Chemotaxis, reaction-diffusion systems, lyapunov stability, pattern formation, nonlinear PDEs, microbial ecology},
  issn = {3069-6313},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}