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Title: Dynamic resource allocation drives growth under nitrogen starvation in eukaryotes
Abstract Cells can sense changes in their extracellular environment and subsequently adapt their biomass composition. Nutrient abundance defines the capability of the cell to produce biomass components. Under nutrient-limited conditions, resource allocation dramatically shifts to carbon-rich molecules. Here, we used dynamic biomass composition data to predict changes in growth and reaction flux distributions using the available genome-scale metabolic models of five eukaryotic organisms (three heterotrophs and two phototrophs). We identified temporal profiles of metabolic fluxes that indicate long-term trends in pathway and organelle function in response to nitrogen depletion. Surprisingly, our calculations of model sensitivity and biosynthetic cost showed that free energy of biomass metabolites is the main driver of biosynthetic cost and not molecular weight, thus explaining the high costs of arginine and histidine. We demonstrated how metabolic models can accurately predict the complexity of interwoven mechanisms in response to stress over the course of growth.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1804733 1804671 1804187
NSF-PAR ID:
10233919
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
npj Systems Biology and Applications
Volume:
6
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2056-7189
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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