METABOLIC MODELING OF FUMARIC-ACID PRODUCTION BY RHIZOPUS-ARRHIZUS

A metabolic model is developed for fumaric acid production by Rhizopus arrhizus. The model describes the reaction network and the extents of reaction in terms of the concentrations of the measurable species. The proposed pathway consists of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and two pathways to FA production, both of which require CO2 fixation (the forward and the reverse TCA cycles). Relationships among the measurable quantities, in addition to those obtainable by a macroscopic mass balance, are found by invoking a pseudo-steady-state assumption on the nonaccumulating species in the pathway. Applications of the metabolic model, such as verifying the proposed pathway, obtaining the theoretical yield and selectivity, and detecting experimental errors, are discussed.