Building a complete metabolic model
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of California, San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and other institutions have constructed a complete model, including three dimensional protein structures, of the central metabolic network of the bacterium Thermotoga maritima. This is the first time scientists have developed such a comprehensive model of a metabolic network overlaid with an atomic resolution of network proteins. The analysis of the model, among others, highlights the important role of a small number of essential protein shapes, lending new insights into the evolution of protein networks and the functions within these networks. The study was published in the journal Science on 18 September...