Macromolecular crowding explains overflow metabolism in cells

Vazquez, A. and Oltvai, Z. N. (2016) Macromolecular crowding explains overflow metabolism in cells. Scientific Reports, 6, 31007. (doi: 10.1038/srep31007) (PMID:27484619) (PMCID:PMC4971534)

Abstract

Overflow metabolism is a metabolic phenotype of cells characterized by mixed oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) and fermentative glycolysis in the presence of oxygen. Recently, it was proposed that a combination of a protein allocation constraint and a higher proteome fraction cost of energy generation by OxPhos relative to fermentation form the basis of overflow metabolism in the bacterium, Escherichia coli. However, we argue that the existence of a maximum or optimal macromolecular density is another essential requirement. Here we re-evaluate our previous theory of overflow metabolism based on molecular crowding following the proteomic fractions formulation. We show that molecular crowding is a key factor in explaining the switch from OxPhos to overflow metabolism.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Vazquez, Alexei
• Authors: Vazquez, A., and Oltvai, Z. N.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 6: 31007
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License