title: Integration of Metabolic Modeling with Gene Co-expression Reveals Transcriptionally Programmed Reactions Explaining Robustness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: Robustness of metabolic networks is accomplished by gene regulation, modularity, re-routing of metabolites and plasticity. Here, we probed robustness against perturbations of biochemical reactions of M. tuberculosis in the form of predicting compensatory trends. In order to investigate the transcriptional programming of genes associated with correlated fluxes, we integrated with gene co-expression network. Knock down of the reactions NADH2r and ATPS responsible for producing the hub metabolites, and Central carbon metabolism had the highest proportion of their associated genes under transcriptional co-expression with genes of their flux correlated reactions. Reciprocal gene expression correlations were observed among compensatory routes, fresh activation of alternative routes and in the multi-copy genes of Cysteine synthase and of Phosphate transporter. Knock down of 46 reactions caused the activation of Isocitrate lyase or Malate synthase or both reactions, which are central to the persistent state of M. tuberculosis. A total of 30 new freshly activated routes including Cytochrome c oxidase, Lactate dehydrogenase, and Glycine cleavage system were predicted, which could be responsible for switching into dormant or persistent state. Thus, our integrated approach of exploring transcriptional programming of flux correlated reactions has the potential to unravel features of system architecture conferring robustness.
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Room No. 130, G.N. Ramachandran knowledge centre, Mathura Road, Near Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot, New Delhi-110025, India.
authors.forename: Bhanwar Lal
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Puniya
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Room No. 130, G.N. Ramachandran knowledge centre, Mathura Road, Near Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot, New Delhi-110025, India.
authors.forename: Deepika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kulshreshtha
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Room No. 130, G.N. Ramachandran knowledge centre, Mathura Road, Near Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot, New Delhi-110025, India.
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Room No. 130, G.N. Ramachandran knowledge centre, Mathura Road, Near Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot, New Delhi-110025, India.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mobeen
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Room No. 130, G.N. Ramachandran knowledge centre, Mathura Road, Near Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot, New Delhi-110025, India.
authors.forename: Srinivasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
mesh_terms: D015870:Gene Expression; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic