title: Public goods and metabolic strategies.
abstract: Microbial growth can be characterized by a limited set of macroscopic parameters such as growth rate, biomass yield and substrate affinity. Different culturing protocols for laboratory evolution have been developed to select mutant strains that have one specific macroscopic growth parameter improved. Some of those mutant strains display tradeoffs between growth parameters and changed metabolic strategies, for example, a shift from respiration to fermentation. Here we discuss recent studies suggesting that metabolic strategies and growth parameter tradeoffs originate from a common set of physicochemical and cellular constraints, associated with the allocation of intracellular resources over biosynthetic processes, mostly protein synthesis. This knowledge will give insight in ecological and biological concepts and can be used for metabolic and evolutionary engineering strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Bioinformatics, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; NIZO Food Research, Kernhemseweg 2, 6718 ZB Ede, The Netherlands; Top Institute Food and Nutrition, 6700 AN Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: h.bachmann@vu.nl.
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Bioinformatics, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Bruggeman
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Bioinformatics, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Douwe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molenaar
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbial Physiology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Branco Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Bioinformatics, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Teusink
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018533:Biomass; D005285:Fermentation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis