A SOFTWARE TOOL FOR THE TOPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF METABOLIC

NETWORKS UNDER A METABOLIC ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE

Universityof Minho Author* José Pedro Pinto

SchoolofEngineering
DepartmentofInformatics / CCTC Supervisors: MiguelRocha, Co-Supervisor: IsabelRocha
* josepedr@di.uminho.pt

OptFlux Mathematical Model

microorganisms. Its main objective is to find mutant strains with improved capabilities regarding the production of target compounds, typically of industrial interest. Loading a new model from available
m the data contained in the metabolic models of the microorganisms and that contains several tools for analysing the networks' topological properties. formats
of metabolic networks: (i) a directed graph composed by two types of nodes, metabolites and reactions, where edges represent the consumption or production of metabolites by reactions; (ii) a directed graph where nodes represent the met
ng coefficients, etc). Also, it allowsNetworkCreation
the user to create sub-networks through the use of filters defined based on either the properties of the network or in flux values that result from in silicophenotype simulations of the organisms obtained by s

Simulation
Initial Network

Reaction and metabolite network Metabolite only network Reaction only network

Metabolite
Metabolite Reaction Metabolite Metabolite

Reaction

Metabolite Reaction
Metabolite
Metabolite Reaction Metabolite
Reaction

Metabolite Metabolite
Network creation
Metabolite Reaction Metabolite

Sub-network creation

Node Ranking

Identification of

Components
Sub-NetworkCreation OptFlux Simulation
Shortest Path Analysis

Clustering Coefficient

Sub-Network
Analysis
Reaction and metabolite network Metabolite only network Reaction only network

Metabolite Metabolite

Analysis
Reaction
Metabolite Reaction Metabolite
Reaction

Metabolite
Metabolite Reaction

ng phases:

the project an uses it to create a metabolic network.

ed to study the network. Acknowledgments

José Pedro
y TNA4OptFluxor from an OptFlux simulation, Pinto
these has a BSc
sub-networks inthen
can Systems and Informatics
be analysed Engineering
and if necessary (Univ.The
used to create Minho) and
authors
other at the moment
acknowledge
sub-networks. is taking
the support froma the
Post graduation
Portuguese inunder
FCT Data the
Analysis
projectSystems
POCI/BIO/60139/2004 and the PhD

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