Essential genes on metabolic maps.
Within the past five years genome-scale gene essentiality data sets have been published for ten diverse bacterial species. These data are a rich source of information about cellular networks that we are only beginning to explore. The analysis of these data, very heterogeneous in nature, is a challenging task. Even the definition of 'essential genes' in various genome-scale studies varies from genes 'absolutely required for survival' to those 'strongly contributing to fitness' and robust competitive growth. A comparative analysis of gene essentiality across multiple organisms based on projection of experimentally observed essential genes to functional roles in a collection of metabolic pathways and subsystems is emerging as a powerful tool of systems biology.
Gerdes
Svetlana
S
Fellowship for Interpretation of Genomes, Burr Ridge, IL 60527, USA. sveta@thefig.info
Edwards
Robert
R
Kubal
Michael
M
Fonstein
Michael
M
Stevens
Rick
R
Osterman
Andrei
A
D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D020043:Genes, Essential / Q000235:genetics*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D008954:Models, Biological; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*