Predictions, cellular metabolic modeling

Finally, mathematical modeling in biology can provide valuable insight into the integrative behavior of cellular networks. For example, FBA can be used to predict the metabolic by-products in E. coli that are formed during aerobic and anaerobic metabo-lism.f Furthermore, FBA has been utilized to generate several novel hypotheses regarding the function of the E. coli metabolic network. These were demonstrated to be consistent with available experimental data.P"... 

Resource for building models for simulating intracellular molecular processes to predict the dynamic behavior of living cells. The system allows the user to define protein functions, protein-protein interactions, protein-DNA interactions, gene regulation, and other features of cellular metabolism. Dynamic changes in concentradons of proteins and other chemical compounds can also be visualized. 

The addition of new biochemical pathways, or the modification of existing pathways, is likely to affect the rest of the cellular metabolism. The new or altered pathways may compete with other reactions for intermediates or cofactors. To precisely predict the impact of the manipulation of a metabolic network is virtually impossible since it would require a perfect model of all enzyme kinetics and of the control of gene expression. Flowever, attempts have been made to develop modeling techniques to predict the behavior of altered organisms [29]. 

Becker, S.A., Feist, A.M., Mo, M.L., Hannum, G., Palsson, B.O., Herrgard, M.J. Quantitative prediction of cellular metabolism with constraint-based models the COBRA toolbox. Nat. Protoc. 2, 727-738 (2007)... 

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