Abstract
Cell expansion is a significant contributor to organ growth and is driven by the accumulation of osmolytes to increase cell turgor pressure. Metabolic modelling has the potential to provide insights into the processes that underpin osmolyte synthesis and transport, but the main computational approach for predicting metabolic network fluxes, flux balance analysis, often uses biomass composition as the main output constraint and ignores potential changes in cell volume. Here we present growth-by-osmotic-expansion flux balance analysis (GrOE-FBA), a framework that accounts for both the metabolic and ionic contributions to the osmotica that drive cell expansion, as well as the synthesis of protein, cell wall and cell membrane components required for cell enlargement. Using GrOE-FBA, the metabolic fluxes in dividing and expanding cells were analysed, and the energetic costs for metabolite biosynthesis and accumulation in the two scenarios were found to be surprisingly similar. The expansion phase of tomato fruit growth was also modelled using a multiphase single-optimization GrOE-FBA model and this approach gave accurate predictions of the major metabolite levels throughout fruit development, as well as revealing a role for transitory starch accumulation in ensuring optimal fruit development.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 4
Claim · model-written summary
GrOE-FBA accounts for metabolic and ionic osmotica and synthesis needed for cell enlargement.
- Taxon
- tomato fruits
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Outcome
- metabolic and ionic contributions to the osmoticae0
- Qualifier
- cell enlargemente0
Not reportedComparatorValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“tomato fruits”
e0“GrOE-FBA), a framework that accounts for both the metabolic and ionic contributions to the osmotica that drive cell expansion, as well as the synthesis of protein, cell wall and cell membrane components required for cell enlargement”
Claim · model-written summary
Dividing and expanding cells had surprisingly similar energetic costs for metabolite biosynthesis and accumulation.
- Taxon
- tomato fruitsSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- energetic costs for metabolite biosynthesis and accumulatione0
- Direction
- surprisingly similare0
- Comparator
- the two scenariose0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“tomato fruits”
e0“the energetic costs for metabolite biosynthesis and accumulation in the two scenarios were found to be surprisingly similar”
Claim · model-written summary
GrOE-FBA accurately predicted major metabolite levels throughout tomato fruit development.
- Taxon
- tomato fruitsSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Organ / stage
- fruit developmente0
- Outcome
- major metabolite levelse0
- Direction
- accuratee0
Not reportedComparatorValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“tomato fruits”
e0“this approach gave accurate predictions of the major metabolite levels throughout fruit development”
Claim · model-written summary
The model indicated transitory starch accumulation helps ensure optimal fruit development.
- Taxon
- tomato fruitsSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Compound
- transitory starche0
- Outcome
- optimal fruit developmente0
- Qualifier
- transitory starch accumulatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“tomato fruits”
e0“revealing a role for transitory starch accumulation in ensuring optimal fruit development”