Network-based Design of Microbial Strains for the Production of Biomaterials

The microbial production of compounds of industrial interest often require metabolic engineering to increase production yield and reduce the impact of adverse environmental conditions. Motter and collaborators have developed a method to computationally predict genetic changes that can enhance the metabolic performance of microbial cells under adverse conditions. This is achieved by exploring the network of metabolic fluxes to identify gene deletions that constraint the behavior of the cell around desirable functional states. In particular, this approach can be used to restore cellular reproduction under conditions in which cells would not be able to metabolize biomass and grow.

TCA cycle of a nonviable gene-deficient E. coli mutant. In this example, the deletion of genes aceA and sucAB restores the cell’s ability to metabolize phenylalanine, tyrosine and L-lysine, which are building blocks of the biomass. [Adapted from Mol Syst Biol 4, 168 (2008)]