Multi-tissue and multi-organism model development

Genome-scale metabolic models can assess allowable cellular phenotypes; explore the metabolic potentials and restrictions under specific environmental and/or genetic conditions. Furthermore, by reconstructing organism-scale/multi-tissue and community/multi-organism models, we can determine the interactions between different cell/tissue-types or organisms, resolve bottlenecks in limiting pathways, and study the organism-level and community-level fitness and metabolic trade-offs. However, only a limited number of efforts exist on photosynthetic metabolism (both plant and cyanobacterial community) reconstruction. In addition, less well studied are the similarities and differences in their metabolism and diurnal/circadian behavior.

The project aims to improve the understanding of metabolic interactions within both species- and community-levels through multi-tissue models of plants pertaining the production of lignocellulosic biomass and multi-organism model of cyanobacterial mat. Overall the goals of this project are three-fold: i) to reconstruct multi-tissue or organism-scale model of biofuel crops, ii) to develop multi-organism or community model of cyanobacterial mat, and iii) to develop and implement a constraint-based modeling approach to determine bottlenecks in cellulosic metabolism, analyze the physiological responses and interactions within microbial communities, and suggest genetic manipulations to improve yield of cellulosic biomass and useful bioproducts.