An in silico platform for the design of heterologous pathways in nonnative metabolite production

Chatsurachai, S; Furusawa, C; Shimizu, H

HERO ID

4851254

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2012

HERO ID 4851254
In Press No
Year 2012
Title An in silico platform for the design of heterologous pathways in nonnative metabolite production
Authors Chatsurachai, S; Furusawa, C; Shimizu, H
Journal BMC Bioinformatics
Volume 13 (2012)
Page Numbers n/a
Abstract   Doc number: 93 Abstract Background: Microorganisms are used as cell factories to produce valuable compounds in pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and other industrial processes. Incorporating heterologous metabolic pathways into well-characterized hosts is a major strategy for obtaining these target metabolites and improving productivity. However, selecting appropriate heterologous metabolic pathways for a host microorganism remains difficult owing to the complexity of metabolic networks. Hence, metabolic network design could benefit greatly from the availability of an in silico platform for heterologous pathway searching. Results: We developed an algorithm for finding feasible heterologous pathways by which nonnative target metabolites are produced by host microorganisms, using Escherichia coli , Corynebacterium glutamicum , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as templates. Using this algorithm, we screened heterologous pathways for the production of all possible nonnative target metabolites contained within databases. We then assessed the feasibility of the target productions using flux balance analysis, by which we could identify target metabolites associated with maximum cellular growth rate. Conclusions: This in silico platform, designed for targeted searching of heterologous metabolic reactions, provides essential information for cell factory improvement.   Microorganisms are used as cell factories to produce valuable compounds in pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and other industrial processes. Incorporating heterologous metabolic pathways into well-characterized hosts is a major strategy for obtaining these target metabolites and improving productivity. However, selecting appropriate heterologous metabolic pathways for a host microorganism remains difficult owing to the complexity of metabolic networks. Hence, metabolic network design could benefit greatly from the availability of an in silico platform for heterologous pathway searching. We developed an algorithm for finding feasible heterologous pathways by which nonnative target metabolites are produced by host microorganisms, using Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as templates. Using this algorithm, we screened heterologous pathways for the production of all possible nonnative target metabolites contained within databases. We then assessed the feasibility of the target productions using flux balance analysis, by which we could identify target metabolites associated with maximum cellular growth rate. This in silico platform, designed for targeted searching of heterologous metabolic reactions, provides essential information for cell factory improvement.
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Keyword Enzymes; Studies; Metabolites; Metabolism; Microbiology