Chlamydia trachomatis is an important bacterial pathogen that has an unusual developmental switch from a dividing form (reticulate body or RB) to an infectious form (elementary body or EB). RBs replicate by binary fission within an infected host cell, but there is a delay before RBs convert into EBs for spread to a new host cell. We developed stochastic optimal control models of the Chlamydia developmental cycle to examine factors that control the number of EBs produced. These factors included the probability and timing of conversion, and the duration of the developmental cycle before the host cell lyses. Our mathematical analysis shows that the observed delay in RB-to-EB conversion is important for maximizing EB production by the end of the intracellular infection.

沙眼衣原体是一种重要的细菌病原体，具有从分裂形式（网状体或 RB）到感染形式（基本体或 EB）的不寻常的发育转变。RB 在受感染的宿主细胞内通过二元裂变进行复制，但在 RB 转化为 EB 以传播到新的宿主细胞之前存在延迟。我们开发了衣原体发育周期的随机最优控制模型来检查控制产生的 EB 数量的因素。这些因素包括转化的概率和时间，以及宿主细胞裂解前发育周期的持续时间。我们的数学分析表明，观察到的 RB 到 EB 转换的延迟对于在细胞内感染结束时最大化 EB 生产很重要。