This model was provided to us as part of our partnership. with UniCAMP Brazil, full documentation can be found at their model page HERE
UniCAMP's project is based on optimizing cellulose production by bacteria. So they offered us to create a model which showed us the optimal O2 and nitrogen source (NH4) conditions that our engineered bacteria would require for optimal bacterial cellulose (or in our case co-polymer) production.
Using the Genomic Scale Model - GEM, it is possible to change the uptakes conditions and use this to understand the minimum requirements for the culture media. The production of n-acetylglucosamine, part of the copolymer, uses nitrogen. So, to better understand the needs of cultivation, different cultivation conditions are simulated, evidencing how much NH4 the komagataeibacter itself needs for its development. Ammonium is used as a model for nitrogen source for komagataeibacter, which is needed for vital functions in the metabolism. In this scenario, it is possible to uncover the minimum of NH4 that is needed by K. xylinus to grow that in the medium.
Besides, Komagataeibacter is an obligate aerobic bacterium, so oxygen presence in the media is mandatory. Therefore, the model was used to test different media conditions, changing not only the concentration of NH4 but also the O2 available, with the purpose of analyzing the minimum for cell growth and cellulose production. Using the metabolic model provided in the supplement to the article by Rezazadeh (2020) different growing conditions were simulated to see how they affected the growth rate and cellulose production. Below are the 2 final graphs, a total of 100x100 = (10,000) combinations of cultivation conditions were made, varying the main condition nutrients of the medium NH4 and O2.
