An Agent-based Model for the Pattern Formation in Drosophila Melanogaster

The hierarchical organisation of biological systems plays a crucial role in the pattern formation of gene expression resulting from the morphogenetic processes. Being able to reproduce the systems dynamics at different levels of such a hierarchy might be very useful for studying such a complex phenomenon of self-organisation. In this paper we propose the adoption of the agent-based model as an approach capable of capture multi-level dynamics. We then realise an agent-based model of Drosophila Melanogaster morphogenesis demonstrating its capability of reproducing the expression pattern of the embryo.