Dynamical modelling of secondary metabolism and metabolic switches in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318

The production of secondary metabolites, while important for bioengineering purposes, presents a paradox in itself. Though widely existing in plants and bacteria, they have no definite physiological roles. Yet in both native habitats and laboratories, their production appears robust and follows apparent metabolic switches. We show in this work that the enzyme-catalysed process may improve the metabolic stability of the cells. The latter can be responsible for the overall metabolic behaviours such as dynamic metabolic landscape, metabolic switches and robustness, which can in turn affect the genetic formation of the organism in question. Mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318, with a relatively compact genome for secondary metabolism, is used as a model organism in our investigation. Integrated studies via kinetic metabolic modelling, transcriptase measurements and metabolic profiling were performed on this strain. Our results demonstrate that the secondary metabolites increase the metabolic fitness of the organism via stabilizing the underlying metabolic network. And the fluxes directing to NADH, NADPH, acetyl-CoA and glutamate provide the key switches for the overall and secondary metabolism. The information may be helpful for improving the xiamenmycin production on the strain.