Simulation Modeling to Compare High-Throughput, Low-Iteration Optimization Strategies for Metabolic Engineering

Increasing the final titer of a multi-gene metabolic pathway can be viewed as a multivariate optimization problem. While numerous multivariate optimization algorithms exist, few are specifically designed to accommodate the constraints posed by genetic engineering workflows. We present a strategy for...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stephen C. Heinsch, Siba R. Das, Michael J. Smanski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00313/full
Description
Summary:Increasing the final titer of a multi-gene metabolic pathway can be viewed as a multivariate optimization problem. While numerous multivariate optimization algorithms exist, few are specifically designed to accommodate the constraints posed by genetic engineering workflows. We present a strategy for optimizing expression levels across an arbitrary number of genes that requires few design-build-test iterations. We compare the performance of several optimization algorithms on a series of simulated expression landscapes. We show that optimal experimental design parameters depend on the degree of landscape ruggedness. This work provides a theoretical framework for designing and executing numerical optimization on multi-gene systems.
ISSN:1664-302X