Metabolic Engineering: Pathways and Fluxes

This lecture covers the four-step process of Metabolic Engineering, starting from the identification of genetic modifications to the assessment of transformed organisms. It delves into the modification of metabolic pathways, the historical evolution of metabolic engineering, and the objectives of Synthetic Biology. The analytical component of metabolic engineering is emphasized, focusing on integrated metabolic pathways and the concept of metabolic network. The lecture also discusses the reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic models, the importance of flux balance analysis, and the integration of fluxomics data. It concludes with a look at the challenges and opportunities in understanding and manipulating metabolism at the systems level.