Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing

Abstract Central carbon metabolism is highly conserved across microbial species, but can catalyze very different pathways depending on the organism and their ecological niche. Here, we study the dynamic reorganization of central metabolism after switches between the two major opposing pathway config...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Severin Josef Schink, Dimitris Christodoulou, Avik Mukherjee, Edward Athaide, Viktoria Brunner, Tobias Fuhrer, Gary Andrew Bradshaw, Uwe Sauer, Markus Basan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2022-01-01
Series:Molecular Systems Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.202110704
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849331533790314496
author Severin Josef Schink
Dimitris Christodoulou
Avik Mukherjee
Edward Athaide
Viktoria Brunner
Tobias Fuhrer
Gary Andrew Bradshaw
Uwe Sauer
Markus Basan
author_facet Severin Josef Schink
Dimitris Christodoulou
Avik Mukherjee
Edward Athaide
Viktoria Brunner
Tobias Fuhrer
Gary Andrew Bradshaw
Uwe Sauer
Markus Basan
author_sort Severin Josef Schink
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Central carbon metabolism is highly conserved across microbial species, but can catalyze very different pathways depending on the organism and their ecological niche. Here, we study the dynamic reorganization of central metabolism after switches between the two major opposing pathway configurations of central carbon metabolism, glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis in Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Pseudomonas putida. We combined growth dynamics and dynamic changes in intracellular metabolite levels with a coarse‐grained model that integrates fluxes, regulation, protein synthesis, and growth and uncovered fundamental limitations of the regulatory network: After nutrient shifts, metabolite concentrations collapse to their equilibrium, rendering the cell unable to sense which direction the flux is supposed to flow through the metabolic network. The cell can partially alleviate this by picking a preferred direction of regulation at the expense of increasing lag times in the opposite direction. Moreover, decreasing both lag times simultaneously comes at the cost of reduced growth rate or higher futile cycling between metabolic enzymes. These three trade‐offs can explain why microorganisms specialize for either glycolytic or gluconeogenic substrates and can help elucidate the complex growth patterns exhibited by different microbial species.
format Article
id doaj-art-3ca31f39b3384080b5d57cdc605149c9
institution Kabale University
issn 1744-4292
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Springer Nature
record_format Article
series Molecular Systems Biology
spelling doaj-art-3ca31f39b3384080b5d57cdc605149c92025-08-20T03:46:32ZengSpringer NatureMolecular Systems Biology1744-42922022-01-0118111410.15252/msb.202110704Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensingSeverin Josef Schink0Dimitris Christodoulou1Avik Mukherjee2Edward Athaide3Viktoria Brunner4Tobias Fuhrer5Gary Andrew Bradshaw6Uwe Sauer7Markus Basan8Systems Biology Department, Harvard Medical SchoolSystems Biology Department, Harvard Medical SchoolSystems Biology Department, Harvard Medical SchoolApplied Mathematics Department, Harvard CollegeInstitute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH ZurichInstitute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH ZurichLaboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, Harvard Medical SchoolInstitute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH ZurichSystems Biology Department, Harvard Medical SchoolAbstract Central carbon metabolism is highly conserved across microbial species, but can catalyze very different pathways depending on the organism and their ecological niche. Here, we study the dynamic reorganization of central metabolism after switches between the two major opposing pathway configurations of central carbon metabolism, glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis in Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Pseudomonas putida. We combined growth dynamics and dynamic changes in intracellular metabolite levels with a coarse‐grained model that integrates fluxes, regulation, protein synthesis, and growth and uncovered fundamental limitations of the regulatory network: After nutrient shifts, metabolite concentrations collapse to their equilibrium, rendering the cell unable to sense which direction the flux is supposed to flow through the metabolic network. The cell can partially alleviate this by picking a preferred direction of regulation at the expense of increasing lag times in the opposite direction. Moreover, decreasing both lag times simultaneously comes at the cost of reduced growth rate or higher futile cycling between metabolic enzymes. These three trade‐offs can explain why microorganisms specialize for either glycolytic or gluconeogenic substrates and can help elucidate the complex growth patterns exhibited by different microbial species.https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.202110704flux sensinglag timemetabolismspecializationtrade‐off
spellingShingle Severin Josef Schink
Dimitris Christodoulou
Avik Mukherjee
Edward Athaide
Viktoria Brunner
Tobias Fuhrer
Gary Andrew Bradshaw
Uwe Sauer
Markus Basan
Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
Molecular Systems Biology
flux sensing
lag time
metabolism
specialization
trade‐off
title Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
title_full Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
title_fullStr Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
title_full_unstemmed Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
title_short Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
title_sort glycolysis gluconeogenesis specialization in microbes is driven by biochemical constraints of flux sensing
topic flux sensing
lag time
metabolism
specialization
trade‐off
url https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.202110704
work_keys_str_mv AT severinjosefschink glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT dimitrischristodoulou glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT avikmukherjee glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT edwardathaide glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT viktoriabrunner glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT tobiasfuhrer glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT garyandrewbradshaw glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT uwesauer glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing
AT markusbasan glycolysisgluconeogenesisspecializationinmicrobesisdrivenbybiochemicalconstraintsoffluxsensing