EVENTO
A flux balance approach to understand the regulation of photosynthesis in Chlamdomonas reinhardtii
Tipo de evento: Seminário LNCC
The use of microalgae to produce renewable biofuel can help satisfy our thirst for fuel. In order to realise the full potential of microalgae for commercial application, a systems-level understanding of photosynthesis and metabolism is required. Photosynthesis is one of the most highly regulated and integrated metabolic processes in nature. Algal cells grown with acetate to induce mixotrophic growth experience a down regulation of photosynthesis compared to autotrophic cultures. Investigating the carbon flux distribution in a metabolic network of microalgae remains important for understanding the complex relationships between carbon metabolism and the photosynthetic reactions. In this talk, I present Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) and Flux Variability Analysis (FVA) that were implemented on a genome scale model of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to examine changes in intracellular flux distribution on global metabolism and photosynthesis. Key findings include the entry of acetate into the glyoxylate cycle, and the non-essentiality of key photosynthetic reactions consistent with experimental data. Regardless of the rich knowledge gained from such simulations, model improvements are required to understand how fluxes are regulated within metabolic pathways and exploit this knowledge to improve photosynthetic yield and biofuel production. The remainder of the seminar will be dedicated to explain research undertaken at the LNCC, which involves the investigation of cyclic structures, resulting from the production of a mass-consistent version of the model. Application of a cyclic decomposition algorithm can potentially unveil cyclic and acyclic flows of substances through the network. Thus, revealing how flux distributions are reorganised following external perturbations that affect the biochemical behaviour of the cell.
Data Início: 24/11/2014 Hora: 14:00 Data Fim: Hora: 15:30
Local: LNCC - Laboratório Nacional de Computação Ciêntifica - Auditorio A
Comitê Organizador: Steve Chapman - Manchester University - -
