Flux calculation using metabolic control constraints

Prediction of metabolic fluxes requires the knowledge of reaction stoichiometry and the overall reaction kinetics including various regulatory mechanisms. Lacking the complete reaction kinetics, one often uses available flux measurements or other constraints to calculate the intracellular fluxes. In this article, we show that the flux constraints derived from the dynamic metabolic control theory can be used instead of the kinetics to calculate the fluxes. This approach provides a possibility of predicting the flux distribution in a genetically modified organism using the flux control coefficients and the fluxes determined from the host or the parent strains. It shows that the regulatory constraints can be expressed in terms of the flux control coefficients. This result gives new significance to the flux control coefficients and provides new incentives to determine the flux control coefficients systematically.