Systems Biology and Metabolic Modeling

• Published in: Sugarcane pp. 601 - 622
• Main Authors: Rohwer, Johann M, Uys, Lafras
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated 2014; Wiley; John Wiley & Sons Ltd
• Subjects: advection‐diffusion‐reaction framework; metabolic kinetic model; network stoichiometry; steady‐state sugarcane growth model; systems biology
• ISBN: 0813821215; 9780813821214
• DOI: 10.1002/9781118771280.ch22

This chapter deals with the subject of systems biology, specifically the kinetic modeling of metabolic pathways, as a tool for better understanding the control and regulation of a cellular system and for developing strategies to manipulate it. It talks about the concept of network stoichiometry, as a component of all metabolic models. The chapter discusses strategies for model parameterization and software for modeling. It illustrates the approach with three models from the general plant physiology literature, and provides a historical overview of the kinetic modeling of sugarcane physiology. The chapter deals with the steady‐state sugarcane growth model in which the culm is modeled in segments, each internode separately. This model is extended to a continuous growth model that explicitly includes phloem flow linking the internodes, and simulated within an advection‐diffusion‐reaction framework.