Flux coupling and transcriptional regulation within the metabolic network of the photosynthetic bacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803

Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is a model cyanobacterium capable of producing biofuels with CO2 as carbon source and with its metabolism fueled by light, for which it stands as a potential production platform of socio-economic importance. Compilation and characterization of Synechocystis genome-scale metabolic model is a pre-requisite toward achieving a proficient photosynthetic cell factory.

To this end, we report iSyn811, an upgraded genome-scale metabolic model of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 consisting of 956 reactions and accounting for 811 genes. To gain insights into the interplay between flux activities and metabolic physiology, flux coupling analysis was performed for iSyn811 under four different growth conditions, viz., autotrophy, mixotrophy, heterotrophy, and light-activated heterotrophy (LH).

Initial steps of carbon acquisition and catabolism formed the versatile center of the flux coupling networks, surrounded by a stable core of pathways leading to biomass building blocks. This analysis identified potential bottlenecks for hydrogen and ethanol production. Integration of transcriptomic data with the Synechocystis flux coupling networks lead to identification of reporter flux coupling pairs and reporter flux coupling groups - regulatory hot spots during metabolic shifts triggered by the availability of light.

Overall, flux coupling analysis provided insight into the structural organization of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 metabolic network toward designing of a photosynthesis-based production platform. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.