Calculating as many fluxes as possible in underdetermined metabolic networks

A frequently occurring problem in Metabolic Flux Analysis is that the linear equation systems are underdetermined. A procedure for determining which reaction velocities can be calculated in underdetermined metabolic systems from measured rates and computing these velocities is given. The method is based on the null-space matrix to the stoichiometry matrix corresponding to the reactions with unknown velocities. Moreover, an elementary representation of the null-space is presented. This representation enables one to find those sets of measurable velocities that allow calculation of a certain non-measurable rate. The approach is illustrated by an example from monosaccharide metabolism.