Multiscale metabolic modeling: dynamic flux balance analysis on a whole-plant scale.
Plant metabolism is characterized by a unique complexity on the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. On a whole-plant scale, changing source and sink relations accompanying plant development add another level of complexity to metabolism. With the aim of achieving a spatiotemporal resolution of source-sink interactions in crop plant metabolism, a multiscale metabolic modeling (MMM) approach was applied that integrates static organ-specific models with a whole-plant dynamic model. Allowing for a dynamic flux balance analysis on a whole-plant scale, the MMM approach was used to decipher the metabolic behavior of source and sink organs during the generative phase of the barley (Hordeum vulgare) plant. It reveals a sink-to-source shift of the barley stem caused by the senescence-related decrease in leaf source capacity, which is not sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of sink organs such as the growing seed. The MMM platform represents a novel approach for the in silico analysis of metabolism on a whole-plant level, allowing for a systemic, spatiotemporally resolved understanding of metabolic processes involved in carbon partitioning, thus providing a novel tool for studying yield stability and crop improvement.
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gatersleben, D-06466 Gatersleben, Germany.
Eva
E
Grafahrend-Belau
Astrid
A
Junker
André
A
Eschenröder
Johannes
J
Müller
Falk
F
Schreiber
Björn H
BH
Junker
D018533:Biomass; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003198:Computer Simulation; D001467:Hordeum / Q000378:metabolism*; D064688:Metabolic Flux Analysis; D055432:Metabolomics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009928:Organ Specificity; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors