Metabolic modelling

A tutorial for microbial genome-scale metabolic modelling: [3] understanding the SBML format

The systems biology markup language (SBML) is a community-driven, software and platform independent standard for expressing and exchanging systems models between different simulation and analysis software. It is defined using the unified modelling language (UML) and represented using the extensible markup language (XML)1. The SBML does not aim to produce model files that can be readily read by humans, but to provide different software with a unified medium for exchanging models. Each piece of software can then translate imported models into its own internal format1. It is important to understand the SBML for metabolic modelling and engineering because this data language has quickly become the most popular standard of model files since its first publication in 20031.

A tutorial for microbial genome-scale metabolic modelling: [2] building a draft metabolic network from genome annotations of a single bacterial isolate

In my first post of this tutorial, I have demonstrated basic ways to inspect a genome-scale metabolic model (GEM). Now, let’s get our hands dirty — to reconstruct a draft metabolic network from genome annotations, which is the starting point of the protocol proposed by Thiele and Palsson for bottom-up GEM construction1, 2. In this post, we will be using several bioinformatic tools to reconstruct draft metabolic networks from annotations of the fully resolved chromosomal genome of Clostridium beijerinckii str. NCIMB 8052 (KEGG organism code: cbe; PATRIC genome ID: 290402.41), a well-known butanol-producing microorganism. A GEM iCM925 of this strain has been published by Milne et al3.

Bioinformatic resources for investigating clostridial metabolism

Solventogenic clostridia offer a promising and sustainable alternative to petroleum-based production of butanol — an important industrial chemical feedstock and fuel additive or replacement1. They also draw our attention for their potential in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and relieving the threat of global warming. It is of paramount importance to elucidate the metabolism of clostridia for metabolism engineering and industrial applications of gas fermentation. In addition to standard experimental approaches, bioinformatics provides us with an efficient way to identify targets (genetic or biochemical) that can be controlled to improve the product formation. In this post, I briefly summarise bioinformatic resources that are publicly accessible to date for interrogating clostridial metabolism.