Computational approaches to enzymatic reaction assignment: a review of methods, validations, and future directions

Characterizing the proteins and molecules that underpin cellular metabolism is fundamental to advancing our understanding of biological processes. However, the rapidly expanding repertoire of newly identified proteins and metabolites presents significant challenges for experimental characterization and functional analysis. Computational approaches can be used to identify and elucidate catalytic relationships between enzymes and their substrates and provide powerful tools that support biological research and applications in biochemical engineering, and drug discovery. In this review, we describe the problem of reaction assignment for predicting enzymatic reactions leveraging structural, network, and high-throughput experimental data. Also considered are theoretical perspectives motivating the design of computational methods, available resources, and validation techniques. Current and future computational approaches for enzymatic reaction assignment are expected to advance in tandem with technologies for experimental analysis of metabolism, such as metabolomics, and flux-based methods, to expand our understanding of metabolism.