2017/02/01 by Herbert M. Sauro · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction #Fungal and yeast genetics research #Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
paper · pdf · doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0848
openalex publication_date 2017/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The biochemical networks found in living organisms include a huge variety of control mechanisms at multiple levels of organization. While the mechanistic and molecular details of many of these control mechanisms are understood, their exact role in driving cellular behaviour is not. For example, yeast glycolysis has been studied for almost 80 years but it is only recently that we have come to understand the systemic role of the multitude of feedback and feed-forward controls that exist in this pathway. In this article, control theory is discussed as an approach to dissect the control logic of complex pathways. One of the key issues is distinguishing between the terms control and regulation and how these concepts are applied to regulated enzymes such as phosphofructokinase. In doing so, one of the paradoxes in metabolic regulation can be resolved where enzymes such as phosphofructokinase have little control but, nevertheless, possess significant regulatory influence.