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Updated: May 17, 2026
12:08
Multi-scale Analysis of Bacterial Growth Under Stress Treatments
Published on: November 28, 2019
Systems analysis of microbial adaptations to simultaneous stresses.
Ross P Carlson1, Olusegun J Oshota, Reed L Taffs
1Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3920, USA, rossc@coe.montana.edu.
Sub-Cellular Biochemistry
|October 20, 2012
Summary
Microbial physiology is explained by a new resource-ratio theory. This model accurately predicts microbial phenotypes by analyzing metabolic adaptations to environmental stresses.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Physiology
- Systems Biology
- Metabolic Engineering
Background:
- Microbial environments involve multiple concurrent stresses, including resource scarcity.
- Existing theoretical tools for microbial physiology require improvement to explain fundamental aspects.
- Metabolic organization reflects microbial evolutionary histories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a resource-ratio based theory for elucidating microbial strategies in extracting and channeling mass and energy.
- To provide improved theoretical tools for understanding microbial physiology under stress.
- To characterize tradeoffs between resource investment and microbial phenotype.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ecological and economic concepts to develop a resource-ratio based theory.
- Deconstructed metabolic networks into elementary flux modes.
- Performed economic analysis of elementary flux modes, tabulating enzyme synthesis requirements and pathway operating costs.
- Mathematically projected elementary flux modes onto experimental fluxomics datasets.
Main Results:
- The resource-ratio based theory accurately describes experimental phenotypes, outperforming contemporary approaches.
- Metabolic adaptations were decomposed into cellular responses proportional to experienced culturing stresses.
- Analysis indicated statistically and biologically significant results.
- Identified inherent tradeoffs between resource investment and phenotype.
Conclusions:
- The resource-ratio based method offers a foundation for interpreting microbial physiology.
- Provides insights into metabolic network design principles and tradeoffs in concurrent stress adaptation.
- Enables rational control and engineering of medically, environmentally, and industrially relevant microbes.
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