Spontaneous Reaction Silencing in Metabolic Optimization
Figure 5
Distribution of the number of active reactions in the E. coli metabolic network after a single-reaction knockout.
(A) The initial response is predicted by the minimization of metabolic adjustment (MOMA) and the endpoint of adaptive evolution by the maximization of the growth rate (FBA), using the medium defined in Materials and Methods and a commercial optimization software package [79]. We consider all 77 nonlethal single-reaction knockouts that change the flux distribution. (B) Schematic illustration of the network reaction activity during the adaptive evolution after a small perturbation, indicating the temporary activation of many latent pathways.