Primary Metabolic Pathways and Metabolic Flux Analysis

his chapter introduces the metabolic flux analysis (MFA) or stoichiometry-based MFA, and describes the quantitative basis for MFA. It discusses the catabolic pathways in which free energy is produced to drive the cell-building anabolic pathways. An overview of these primary pathways provides the reader who is primarily trained in the engineering sciences with atleast a preliminary introduction to biochemistry and also shows how carbon is drained off the catabolic pathways to provide precursors for cell mass building and sometimes for important industrial products.

The primary pathways to be examined in the following are: glycolysis, primarily by the EMP pathway, but other glycolytic pathways is also mentioned; fermentative pathways in which the redox generated in the glycolytic reactions are consumed; reactions in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, which produce biomass precursors and redox power to be used for energy production in oxidative phosphorylation; and reactions in the pentose phosphate (PP) pathway.