Inferring minimal feasible metabolic networks of Escherichia coli

Since the organism contains many redundant reactions, the minimal feasible metabolic network that contains the basic growth function is not the collection of reactions that associate the essential genes. To identify minimal metabolic reaction set is a challenging work in theoretical approach. A new method is presented here to identify the smallest required reaction set of growth-sustaining metabolic networks. The content and number of the minimal reactions for growth are variable in different random processes. Though the different carbon sources also vary the content of the reactions in the minimal metabolic networks, most essential reactions locate in the same metabolic subsystems, such as cofactor and prosthetic group biosynthesis, cell envelope biosynthesis, and membrane lipid metabolism.