INFORMAL SEMINAR on Statistical Physics

[CM ICTP - Trieste]

CONDENSED MATTER AND STATISTICAL PHYSICS SECTION

	
INFORMAL SEMINAR  on  Statistical Physics





Thursday, 28 June    -    16:00 p.m.



Lecture Room D - Terrace Level Main Building


		


D. SEGRÉ
( Boston University )



" Evolutionary constraints in metabolic and genetic networks "



Abstract
Cellular metabolism consists of a complex network of chemical 
reactions, which transform hundreds of small molecules into each other 
in order to secure a reliable supply of energy and building blocks. 
Understanding how cells manage their resources and network flows under 
different environmental conditions is a key question in systems 
biology. In addition to being relevant for practical applications, such 
as the identification of key genes involved in metabolic diseases, or 
the design of bioprocesses for optimal production of biofuels, this 
question is tightly related to the broader problem of how biological 
networks evolve through natural selection. By implementing steady state 
models of genome-scale metabolic networks and studying the response to 
single and double gene deletions in microbial cells, we formulate new 
hypotheses about the capacity of cells to reach optimal states, and 
uncover a global organization of genes and pathways into hierarchical 
modules associated with different biological functions.