Modelling and optimization of metabolic pathways in bacteria

The rational bacterial strain design is a major challenge in synthetic biology. This paper deals with the optimization of a bacterial strain for specific processes taking place in a bioreactor. Such problems are namely maximizing the growth and the production of a product of interest. First, a model combining the internal behavior of the cells with a bioreactor environment is developed assuming mass balance and biological constraints. This model assumes that the production of proteins can be controlled. The problem is then solved with constant optimization variables and returns an optimal strategy for synthetic strains.