Metabolomics

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.

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 construction^{1, 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.

This is my first post of a series of tutorials for constructing genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) for single-cellular microbes. In this tutorial, I follow the protocol created by Heirendt et al. to demonstrate reading and visualisation of existing GEMs¹.

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.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) are abundant one-carbon (C1) components of greenhouse gases and their atmospheric concentrations have seen a drastic increase since the industrial revolution. Besides industrial activities, agricultural practice also causes substantial emissions of these two kinds of gases. Nowadays it is an urgent demand to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases for controlling global warming. Biological conversion of C1 gases to industrial high-value hydrocarbon-based chemicals (such as the ABE — acetone, butanol and ethanol¹) via fermentation has been proven to be an effective approach to meet the demand without completing for photosynthetic resources (e.g., food) or land². Through converting waste C1 gases into biofuels, we can reduce our reliance and demand on fossil fuels, which in turn reduces our total carbon emission. Because of this great environmental benefit, here I outline technologies that recycle waste C1 gases for industrial and environmental purposes.