UC San Diego

Genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions are organized knowledge bases consisting of the genomic information and metabolic pathways of a species. They provide a library of gene-protein-reaction relationships and a mathematical means for metabolic analysis of the organism. Chlorella vulgaris is a species of photosynthetic, eukaryotic microalgae that has received keen interest as a potential feed source for the manufacture of biofuels. Using its genome annotation, and implementing a homology-based reconstruction strategy, the metabolic network of C. vulgaris UTEX 395 was reconstructed. The reconstruction was then formatted into a mathematical model to emulate the metabolism of C. vulgaris in photoautotrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic growth conditions. The flux distributions of the reactions in each growth condition were then compared to identify key reactions in central carbon metabolism and lipid metabolism. The reconstruction network provides insight into the potential of C. vulgaris for metabolic engineering and represents a promising resource for the study of the metabolism of photosynthetic and algal organisms.