title: Visual workflows for 13C-metabolic flux analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The precise quantification of intracellular metabolic flow rates is of fundamental importance in bio(techno)logy and medical research. The gold standard in the field is metabolic flux analysis (MFA) with 13C-labeling experiments. 13C-MFA workflows orchestrate several, mainly human-in-the-loop, software applications, integrating them with plenty of heterogeneous information. In practice, this had posed a major practical barrier for evaluating, interpreting and understanding isotopic data from carbon labeling experiments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Graphical modeling, interactive model exploration and visual data analysis are the key to overcome this limitation. We have developed a first-of-its-kind graphical tool suite providing scientists with an integrated software framework for all aspects of 13C-MFA. Almost 30 modules (plug-ins) have been implemented for the Omix visualization software. Several advanced graphical workflows and ergonomic user interfaces support major domain-specific modeling and proofreading tasks. With that, the graphical suite is a productivity enhancing tool and an original educational training instrument supporting the adoption of 13C-MFA applications in all life science fields.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The Omix Light Edition is freely available at http://www.omix-visualization.com
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  k.noeh@fz-juelich.de, p.droste@omix-visualization.com
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nöh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Droste
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wiechert
mesh_terms: D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D003196:Computer Graphics; D048230:Corynebacterium glutamicum / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D064688:Metabolic Flux Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D057188:Workflow
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes