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Multinomial Tau-Leaping Method for Stochastic Kinetic Simulations

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics, 126(8):Art. No. 084101
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2432326· OSTI ID:902676

We introduce the multinomial tau-leaping (MtL) method, an improved version of the binomial tau-leaping method, for general reaction networks. Improvements in efficiency are achieved in several ways. Firstly, tau-leaping steps are determined simply and efficiently using a-prior information. Secondly, networks are partitioned into closed groups of reactions and corresponding reactants in which no group reactant or reaction is found in any other group. Thirdly, product formation is factored into upper bound estimation of the number of times a particular reaction occurs. Together, these features allow for larger time steps where the numbers of reactions occurring simultaneously in a multi-channel manner are estimated accurately using a multinomial distribution. Using a wide range of test case problems of scientific and practical interest involving cellular processes, such as epidermal growth factor receptor signaling and lactose operon model incorporating gene transcription and translation, we show that tau-leaping based methods like the MtL algorithm can significantly reduce the number of simulation steps thus increasing the numerical efficiency over the exact stochastic simulation algorithm by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the simultaneous multi-channel representation capability of the MtL algorithm makes it a candidate for FPGA implementation or for parallelization in parallel computing environments.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
902676
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-50437; KJ0102000
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, 126(8):Art. No. 084101, Journal Name: Journal of Chemical Physics, 126(8):Art. No. 084101 Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 126; ISSN JCPSA6; ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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