OptCom: a multi-level optimization framework for the metabolic modeling and analysis of microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms rarely live isolated in their natural environments but rather function in consolidated and socializing communities. Despite the growing availability of high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic data, we still know very little about the metabolic contributions of individual microbial players within an ecological niche and the extent and directionality of interactions among them. This calls for development of efficient modeling frameworks to shed light on less understood aspects of metabolism in microbial communities. Here, we introduce OptCom, a comprehensive flux balance analysis framework for microbial communities, which relies on a multi-level and multi-objective optimization formulation to properly describe trade-offs between individual vs. community level fitness criter

SUBMITTER: Zomorrodi AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3271020 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature