TY - JOUR A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Wendering, Philipp A1 - Langary, Damoun A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - A structural property for reduction of biochemical networks JF - Scientific reports N2 - Large-scale biochemical models are of increasing sizes due to the consideration of interacting organisms and tissues. Model reduction approaches that preserve the flux phenotypes can simplify the analysis and predictions of steady-state metabolic phenotypes. However, existing approaches either restrict functionality of reduced models or do not lead to significant decreases in the number of modelled metabolites. Here, we introduce an approach for model reduction based on the structural property of balancing of complexes that preserves the steady-state fluxes supported by the network and can be efficiently determined at genome scale. Using two large-scale mass-action kinetic models of Escherichia coli, we show that our approach results in a substantial reduction of 99% of metabolites. Applications to genome-scale metabolic models across kingdoms of life result in up to 55% and 85% reduction in the number of metabolites when arbitrary and mass-action kinetics is assumed, respectively. We also show that predictions of the specific growth rate from the reduced models match those based on the original models. Since steady-state flux phenotypes from the original model are preserved in the reduced, the approach paves the way for analysing other metabolic phenotypes in large-scale biochemical networks. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96835-1 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 11 IS - 1 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tong, Hao A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Razaghi-Moghadam, Zahra A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - Characterization of effects of genetic variants via genome-scale metabolic modelling JF - Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS N2 - Genome-scale metabolic networks for model plants and crops in combination with approaches from the constraint-based modelling framework have been used to predict metabolic traits and design metabolic engineering strategies for their manipulation. With the advances in technologies to generate large-scale genotyping data from natural diversity panels and other populations, genome-wide association and genomic selection have emerged as statistical approaches to determine genetic variants associated with and predictive of traits. Here, we review recent advances in constraint-based approaches that integrate genetic variants in genome-scale metabolic models to characterize their effects on reaction fluxes. Since some of these approaches have been applied in organisms other than plants, we provide a critical assessment of their applicability particularly in crops. In addition, we further dissect the inferred effects of genetic variants with respect to reaction rate constants, abundances of enzymes, and concentrations of metabolites, as main determinants of reaction fluxes and relate them with their combined effects on complex traits, like growth. Through this systematic review, we also provide a roadmap for future research to increase the predictive power of statistical approaches by coupling them with mechanistic models of metabolism. KW - Single-nucleotide polymorphisms KW - Metabolic models KW - Genome-wide KW - association studies KW - Genomic selection Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03844-4 SN - 1420-682X SN - 1420-9071 VL - 78 IS - 12 SP - 5123 EP - 5138 PB - Springer International Publishing AG CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Gennermann, Kristin A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - Characterization of maximal enzyme catalytic rates in central metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana JF - The plant journal N2 - Availability of plant-specific enzyme kinetic data is scarce, limiting the predictive power of metabolic models and precluding identification of genetic factors of enzyme properties. Enzyme kinetic data are measuredin vitro, often under non-physiological conditions, and conclusions elicited from modeling warrant caution. Here we estimate maximalin vivocatalytic rates for 168 plant enzymes, including photosystems I and II, cytochrome-b6f complex, ATP-citrate synthase, sucrose-phosphate synthase as well as enzymes from amino acid synthesis with previously undocumented enzyme kinetic data in BRENDA. The estimations are obtained by integrating condition-specific quantitative proteomics data, maximal rates of selected enzymes, growth measurements fromArabidopsis thalianarosette with and fluxes through canonical pathways in a constraint-based model of leaf metabolism. In comparison to findings inEscherichia coli, we demonstrate weaker concordance between the plant-specificin vitroandin vivoenzyme catalytic rates due to a low degree of enzyme saturation. This is supported by the finding that concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate), adenosine triphosphate and uridine triphosphate, calculated based on our maximalin vivocatalytic rates, and available quantitative metabolomics data are below reportedKMvalues and, therefore, indicate undersaturation of respective enzymes. Our findings show that genome-wide profiling of enzyme kinetic properties is feasible in plants, paving the way for understanding resource allocation. KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - constraint-based modeling KW - enzyme catalytic rates KW - kinetic parameter KW - metabolic network KW - turnover number Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14890 SN - 0960-7412 SN - 1365-313X VL - 103 IS - 6 SP - 2168 EP - 2177 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - Computational Approaches to Design and Test Plant Synthetic Metabolic Pathways JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - Successfully designed and implemented plant-specific synthetic metabolic pathways hold promise to increase crop yield and nutritional value. Advances in synthetic biology have already demonstrated the capacity to design artificial biological pathways whose behavior can be predicted and controlled in microbial systems. However, the transfer of these advances to model plants and crops faces the lack of characterization of plant cellular pathways and increased complexity due to compartmentalization and multicellularity. Modern computational developments provide the means to test the feasibility of plant synthetic metabolic pathways despite gaps in the accumulated knowledge of plant metabolism. Here, we provide a succinct systematic review of optimization-based and retrobiosynthesis approaches that can be used to design and in silico test synthetic metabolic pathways in large-scale plant context-specific metabolic models. In addition, by surveying the existing case studies, we highlight the challenges that these approaches face when applied to plants. Emphasis is placed on understanding the effect that metabolic designs can have on native metabolism, particularly with respect to metabolite concentrations and thermodynamics of biochemical reactions. In addition, we discuss the computational developments that may help to transform the identified challenges into opportunities for plant synthetic biology. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.18.01273 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 179 IS - 3 SP - 894 EP - 906 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - GEN A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Sommer, Frederik A1 - Yaneva-Roder, Liliya A1 - Mackinder, Luke C.M. A1 - Höhne, Melanie A1 - Geimer, Stefan A1 - Jonikas, Martin C. A1 - Schroda, Michael A1 - Stitt, Mark A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Mettler-Altmann, Tabea T1 - Effects of microcompartmentation on flux distribution and metabolic pools in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplasts T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Cells and organelles are not homogeneous but include microcompartments that alter the spatiotemporal characteristics of cellular processes. The effects of microcompartmentation on metabolic pathways are however difficult to study experimentally. The pyrenoid is a microcompartment that is essential for a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) that improves the photosynthetic performance of eukaryotic algae. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we obtained experimental data on photosynthesis, metabolites, and proteins in CCM-induced and CCM-suppressed cells. We then employed a computational strategy to estimate how fluxes through the Calvin-Benson cycle are compartmented between the pyrenoid and the stroma. Our model predicts that ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), the substrate of Rubisco, and 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA), its product, diffuse in and out of the pyrenoid, respectively, with higher fluxes in CCM-induced cells. It also indicates that there is no major diffusional barrier to metabolic flux between the pyrenoid and stroma. Our computational approach represents a stepping stone to understanding microcompartmentalized CCM in other organisms. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1122 KW - carbon concentrating mechanism KW - B12-dependent 1,2-propanediol degradation KW - green algae KW - co2 concentrating mechanism KW - salmonella typhimurium KW - co2 concentration KW - enzyme activities KW - anhydrase CAH3 KW - protein KW - expression Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-446358 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1122 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Sommer, Frederik A1 - Yaneva-Roder, Liliya A1 - Mackinder, Luke C. M. A1 - Hoehne, Melanie A1 - Geimer, Stefan A1 - Jonikas, Martin C. A1 - Schroda, Michael A1 - Stitt, Mark A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Mettler-Altmann, Tabea T1 - Effects of microcompartmentation on flux distribution and metabolic pools in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplasts JF - eLife N2 - Cells and organelles are not homogeneous but include microcompartments that alter the spatiotemporal characteristics of cellular processes. The effects of microcompartmentation on metabolic pathways are however difficult to study experimentally. The pyrenoid is a microcompartment that is essential for a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) that improves the photosynthetic performance of eukaryotic algae. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we obtained experimental data on photosynthesis, metabolites, and proteins in CCM-induced and CCM-suppressed cells. We then employed a computational strategy to estimate how fluxes through the Calvin-Benson cycle are compartmented between the pyrenoid and the stroma. Our model predicts that ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), the substrate of Rubisco, and 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA), its product, diffuse in and out of the pyrenoid, respectively, with higher fluxes in CCM-induced cells. It also indicates that there is no major diffusional barrier to metabolic flux between the pyrenoid and stroma. Our computational approach represents a stepping stone to understanding microcompartmentalized CCM in other organisms. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.37960 SN - 2050-084X VL - 7 PB - eLife Sciences Publications CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tong, Hao A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - Integrating molecular markers into metabolic models improves genomic selection for Arabidopsis growth JF - Nature Communications N2 - The current trends of crop yield improvements are not expected to meet the projected rise in demand. Genomic selection uses molecular markers and machine learning to identify superior genotypes with improved traits, such as growth. Plant growth directly depends on rates of metabolic reactions which transform nutrients into the building blocks of biomass. Here, we predict growth of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions by employing genomic prediction of reaction rates estimated from accession-specific metabolic models. We demonstrate that, comparing to classical genomic selection on the available data sets for 67 accessions, our approach improves the prediction accuracy for growth within and across nitrogen environments by 32.6% and 51.4%, respectively, and from optimal nitrogen to low carbon environment by 50.4%. Therefore, integration of molecular markers into metabolic models offers an approach to predict traits directly related to metabolism, and its usefulness in breeding can be examined by gathering matching datasets in crops. An increase in genomic selection (GS) accuracy can accelerate genetic gain by shortening the breeding cycles. Here, the authors introduce a network-based GS method that uses metabolic models and improves the prediction accuracy of Arabidopsis growth within and across environments. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16279-5 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 11 IS - 1 PB - Nature Publishing Group UK CY - London ER - TY - THES A1 - Küken, Anika T1 - Predictions from constraint-based approaches including enzyme kinetics N2 - The metabolic state of an organism reflects the entire phenotype that is jointly affected by genetic and environmental changes. Due to the complexity of metabolism, system-level modelling approaches have become indispensable tools to obtain new insights into biological functions. In particular, simulation and analysis of metabolic networks using constraint-based modelling approaches have helped the analysis of metabolic fluxes. However, despite ongoing improvements in prediction of reaction flux through a system, approaches to directly predict metabolite concentrations from large-scale metabolic networks remain elusive. In this thesis, we present a computational approach for inferring concentration ranges from genome-scale metabolic models endowed with mass action kinetics. The findings specify a molecular mechanism underling facile control of concentration ranges for components in large-scale metabolic networks. Most importantly, an extended version of the approach can be used to predict concentration ranges without knowledge of kinetic parameters, provided measurements of concentrations in a reference state. We show that the approach is applicable with large-scale kinetic and stoichiometric metabolic models of organisms from different kingdoms of life. By challenging the predictions of concentration ranges in the genome-scale metabolic network of Escherichia coli with real-world data sets, we further demonstrate the prediction power and limitations of the approach. To predict concentration ranges in other species, e.g. model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, we would rely on estimates of kinetic parameters (i.e. enzyme catalytic rates) since plant-specific enzyme catalytic rates are poorly documented. Using the constraint-based approach of Davidi et al. for estimation of enzyme catalytic rates, we obtain values for 168 plant enzymes. The approach depends on quantitative proteomics data and flux estimates obtained from constraint-based model of plant leaf metabolism integrating maximal rates of selected enzymes, plant-specific constraints on fluxes through canonical pathways, and growth measurements from Arabidopsis thaliana rosette under ten conditions. We demonstrate a low degree of plant enzyme saturation, supported by the agreement between concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, adenosine triphosphate, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, based on our maximal in vivo catalytic rates, and available quantitative metabolomics data. Hence, our results show genome-wide estimation for plant-specific enzyme catalytic rates is feasible. These can now be readily employed to study resource allocation, to predict enzyme and metabolite concentrations using recent constrained-based modelling approaches. Constraint-based methods do not directly account for kinetic mechanisms and corresponding parameters. Therefore, a number of workflows have already been proposed to approximate reaction kinetics and to parameterize genome-scale kinetic models. We present a systems biology strategy to build a fully parameterized large-scale model of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accounting for microcompartmentalization in the chloroplast stroma. Eukaryotic algae comprise a microcompartment, the pyrenoid, essential for the carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) that improves their photosynthetic performance. Since the experimental study of the effects of microcompartmentation on metabolic pathways is challenging, we employ our model to investigate compartmentation of fluxes through the Calvin-Benson cycle between pyrenoid and stroma. Our model predicts that ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, the substrate of Rubisco, and 3-phosphoglycerate, its product, diffuse in and out of the pyrenoid. We also find that there is no major diffusional barrier to metabolic flux between the pyrenoid and stroma. Therefore, our computational approach represents a stepping stone towards understanding of microcompartmentalized CCM in other organisms. This thesis provides novel strategies to use genome-scale metabolic networks to predict and integrate metabolite concentrations. Therefore, the presented approaches represent an important step in broadening the applicability of large-scale metabolic models to a range of biotechnological and medical applications. N2 - Der Stoffwechsel eines Organismus spiegelt den gesamten Phänotyp wieder, welcher durch genetische und umweltbedingte Veränderungen beeinflusst wird. Aufgrund der Komplexität des Stoffwechsels sind Modellierungsansätze, welche das ganzheitliches System betrachten, zu unverzichtbaren Instrumenten geworden, um neue Einblicke in biologische Funktionen zu erhalten. Insbesondere die Simulation und Analyse von Stoffwechselnetzwerken mithilfe von Constraint-basierten Modellierungsansätzen hat die Analyse von Stoffwechselflüssen erleichtert. Trotz kontinuierlicher Verbesserungen bei der Vorhersage des Reaktionsflusses durch ein System, sind Ansätze zur direkten Vorhersage von Metabolitkonzentrationen aus metabolischen Netzwerken kaum vorhanden. In dieser Arbeit stellen wir einen Ansatz vor, mit welchem Konzentrationsbereiche aus genomweiten metabolischen Netzwerken, die mit einer Massenwirkungskinetik ausgestattet sind, abgeleitet werden können. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen molekularen Mechanismus auf, welcher der Steuerung von Konzentrationsbereichen für Komponenten in metabolischen Netzwerken zugrunde liegt. Eine erweiterte Version des Ansatzes kann verwendet werden, um Konzentrationsbereiche ohne Kenntnis der kinetischen Parameter vorherzusagen, vorausgesetzt, dass Messungen von Konzentrationen in einem Referenzzustand vorhanden sind. Wir zeigen, dass der Ansatz mit kinetischen und stöchiometrischen Stoffwechselmodellen von Organismen aus verschiedenen taxonomischen Reichen anwendbar ist. Indem wir die Vorhersagen von Konzentrationsbereichen im genomweiten Stoffwechselnetzwerk von Escherichia coli mit realen Datensätzen validieren, demonstrieren wir die Vorhersagekraft und die Grenzen des Ansatzes. Um Konzentrationsbereiche in anderen Spezies vorherzusagen, z.B. der Modellpflanzenspezies Arabidopsis thaliana, stützen wir uns auf Schätzungen der kinetischen Parameter (d.h. der katalytischen Enzymraten), da tatsächlich gemessene, pflanzenspezifische katalytische Enzymraten nur unzureichend dokumentiert sind. Unter Verwendung des Constraint-basierten Ansatzes von Davidi et al. zur Abschätzung der katalytischen Enzymraten erhalten wir Werte für 168 pflanzliche Enzyme. Der Ansatz hängt von quantitativen Proteomikdaten und Schätzungen des Reaktionsflusses ab, die aus einem Constraint-basierten Modell des Pflanzenblattmetabolismus unter Einbeziehung der maximalen Raten ausgewählter Enzyme, pflanzenspezifischen Einschränkungen des Flusses durch kanonische Pfade und Wachstumsmessungen aus Rosetten von Arabidopsis thaliana unter zehn Bedingungen erhalten wurden. Wir fanden einen niedrigen Grad an Sättigung der Pflanzenenzyme, der durch die Übereinstimmung zwischen den Konzentrationen von Nicotinamidadenindinukleotid, Adenosintriphosphat und Glycerinaldehyd-3-phosphat auf der Grundlage unserer maximalen in vivo katalytischen Raten und den verfügbaren quantitativen Metabolomikdaten gestützt wird. Daher zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass genomweite Schätzungen für pflanzenspezifische Enzymkatalyseraten möglich sind. Diese können nun leicht verwendet werden, um die Ressourcenzuweisung zu untersuchen und die Enzym- und Metabolitenkonzentrationen unter Verwendung neuerer Constraint-basierter Modellierungsansätze vorherzusagen. Constraint-basierte Methoden berücksichtigen kinetische Mechanismen und entsprechende Parameter nicht direkt. Daher wurden einige Methoden entwickelt, welche die Reaktionskinetik approximieren und systemumfassende kinetische Modelle zu parametrisieren. Wir präsentieren eine systembiologische Strategie zur Erstellung eines vollständig parametrisierten Modells von Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, welches die Mikrokompartimentierung im Chloroplaststroma berücksichtigt. Eukaryotische Algen besitzen ein Mikrokompartiment, den Pyrenoiden, der für den Kohlenstoffkonzentrationsmechanismus (KKM) unerlässlich ist und die Photosyntheseleistung verbessert. Die experimentelle Untersuchung der Auswirkungen der Mikrokompartimentierung auf Stoffwechselwege stellt eine Herausforderung dar. Daher verwenden wir unser Modell um die Kompartimentierung von Reaktionsflüssen durch den Calvin-Benson-Zyklus zwischen Pyrenoid und Stroma zu untersuchen. Unser Modell sagt voraus, dass Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphat, das Substrat von Rubisco, und 3-Phosphoglycerat , das Produkt, in den Pyrenoid hinein und aus ihm heraus diffundieren. Weiter stellen wir fest, dass es keine wesentliche Diffusionsbarriere zwischen dem Pyrenoid und dem Stroma gibt. Somit bietet unser Ansatz eine Möglichkeit um ein Verständnis des mikrokompartimentierten KKM auch in anderen Organismen zu erlangen. Diese Dissertation zeigt neue Strategien um metabolische Netzwerke zur Vorhersage von Metabolitkonzentrationen zu nutzen und selbige zu integrieren. Daher stellen die Ansätze einen wichtigen Schritt zur Anwendbarkeit von genomweiten Stoffwechselmodellen auf eine Reihe von biotechnologischen und medizinischen Anwendungen dar. KW - constraint-based modeling KW - metabolism KW - metabolic networks Y1 - 2020 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Küken, Anika A1 - Langary, Damoun A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - The hidden simplicity of metabolic networks is revealed by multireaction dependencies JF - Science Advances N2 - Understanding the complexity of metabolic networks has implications for manipulation of their functions. The complexity of metabolic networks can be characterized by identifying multireaction dependencies that are challenging to determine due to the sheer number of combinations to consider. Here, we propose the concept of concordant complexes that captures multireaction dependencies and can be efficiently determined from the algebraic structure and operational constraints of metabolic networks. The concordant complexes imply the existence of concordance modules based on which the apparent complexity of 12 metabolic networks of organisms from all kingdoms of life can be reduced by at least 78%. A comparative analysis against an ensemble of randomized metabolic networks shows that the metabolic network of Escherichia coli contains fewer concordance modules and is, therefore, more tightly coordinated than expected by chance. Together, our findings demonstrate that metabolic networks are considerably simpler than what can be perceived from their structure alone. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl6962 SN - 2375-2548 VL - 8 IS - 13 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER -