Regulation in Microorganisms

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Dynamic analysis reveals time constants of bottlenecks that govern responses of microorganisms to forcing. It is proposed to identify biochemical steps which relate to time constants that have been observed in previous research. Shifts in existing time constants or creation of new time constants as specific inhibitors are added in increasing amounts will indicate when a reaction becomes a bottleneck. Another line of research will track a spectrum of frequencies with a diode-array spectrophotometer as a biosystem is forced. Computerized analysis of the time constant for each frequency should show that different regions of the spectra respond with different time constants, and this should indicate the timing of events in the control scheme. Of the many steps and reactions for microbial growth and biosynthesis, one or two are slower than the others and are the bottlenecks that control rates. Well-established methods of engineering systems analysis will be combined with novel schemes for adding specific inhibitors of biochemical steps and tracking of spectral responses to identify these bottlenecks. When the limiting steps are identified, it may be possible to modify the organisms or to supply crucial substrates to speed productivity.