SAFEPPP: a Simple And Fast method to Find and analyze Extreme Points of a metabolic Phenotypic Phase Plane

Abstract

There are many algorithms that help us understand how genome-scale metabolic networks work and what are their capabilities. But unfortunately, the majority of these methods are based on integer linear programming suffer from long run times and high instrumental demand. Optimal solutions in any constraint-based modeling as genome-scale metabolic networks models are on the extreme points of the solution space. We introduce a fast and simple toolbox that reveals extreme characters of metabolic networks in desired situations which can unmask the hidden potentials of metabolic networks. Determining the possibility of coupling between two desired reaction and the capability of synergic substrate consuming are examples of the applications of this method. Fast enumeration of elementary flux modes that exist in extreme points of phase plane of any two reactions is another achievement of this study.