1.2. Metabolomics, fluxomics and reaction kinetics
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Module section description: Metabolomics
The growing field called Metabolomics detects and quantifies the low molecular weight molecules, known as metabolites (constituents of the metabolome), produced by active, living cells under different conditions and times in their life cycles. Metabolomics is a newly emerging field of "omics" research concerned with the comprehensive characterization of the small molecule metabolites in biological systems. It can provide an overview of the metabolic status and global biochemical events associated with a cellular or biological system. Studying the metabolome (along with other "omes") will highlight changes in networks and pathways and provide insights into physiological and pathological states. Developments in informatics, flux analysis and biochemical modeling are adding new dimensions to the field of metabolomics.
Fluxomics and Reaction kinetics
Fluxomics is the study of the flow of fluid and molecules within cells. About organisms for which the whole metabolism is approximately known, (for instance the bacterium E. coli) one can address the following problem: given some known available nutrients, which set of metabolic fluxes maximizes the growth rate of the organism? The aim of metabolic flux balance analysis, which is a mathematical analysis of the metabolism, is to solve this problem.
Pyrenome Project
This project is a trans-Pyrenean network of complementary competences in the growing field of metabolomics. The scientific ambition of the project was development and validation of new tools enabling the dynamic behaviour of metabolism to be captured at the system level, in order to gain further insights into the principles and mechanisms of metabolic adaptation in biological systems (cells, tissues, organisms). One of the main objectives of the project was the development of a software for the calculations of metabolic fluxes under dynamic conditions: ISODYN. The development of this software was based on the algorithm developed at the LBI (Barcelona) and that allows the calculation of fluxes from knowledge on the kinetic properties of the enzymes (kinetic modelling) combined with experimental data on metabolites, in terms of pools and isotopic pattern (isotopomers). The software was designed with the objective to create a fast, efficient and easy-to-use platform that allows:
· To calculate metabolic flux parameters from a set of experimental results.
· To visualize the obtained parameters (fluxes, but also metabolite pools, etc.) directly on the metabolic pathway.
· To store and to manage the experimental data and the obtained parameters in a database.
You can find more information about Isodyn software in a link of web resources.
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