Abstract
13
Cells robustly maintain metabolic function despite environmental fluctuations affecting reaction 14
kinetics, yet kinetic models often exhibit fragility. We investigated this discrepancy by examining the 15
effects of temperature changes on a kinetic model of Escherichia coli central metabolism. A gradual 16
temperature decrease caused an abrupt transition to a state with sharply reduced ATP production 17
efficiency, triggered by an elevated ATP/ADP ratio creating a glycolysis bottleneck. Introducing a 18
rapid ATP-ADP exchange reaction prevented this ATP/ADP ratio surge and sustained high ATP 19
production efficiency across temperatures. Furthermore, altering enzyme abundances similarly 20
maintained high A TP production, with predicted enzyme regulation aligning with experimental 21
observations in E. coli at low temperatures. Our findings indicate that balancing key cofactors, such 22
as the ATP/ADP ratio, is crucial for preserving metabolic stability under environmental perturbations. 23
24
25
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Introduction
26
Cellular metabolism comprises thousands of reactions that together generate energy, build 27
biomolecules, and recycle cellular components. As external conditions fluctuate, cells adjust their 28
metabolic state to maintain function. For example, bacteria switch between fermentative and 29
respiratory regimes, reroute carbon through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) under oxidative 30
stress, and upregulate anaplerotic reactions when nutrients are scarce (Christodoulou et al., 2018; 31
Sawers, 2025; Sudarsan et al., 2025). This plasticity arises from regulatory mechanisms such as 32
enzyme reallocation and allosteric modulation, enabling cells to occupy distinct, environment-specific 33
metabolic states while sustaining growth (Gruber et al., 2025; Miyakoshi, 2024). 34
Mathematical models of metabolic dynamics have been widely used to probe this plasticity 35
(El-Samad et al., 2005; Stephanopoulos et al., 1998; Strutz et al., 2019). Such models allow analysis 36
of how steady states shift as parameters vary. A recurring finding is that steady-state stability is often 37
fragile to parameter changes. For instance, a kinetic model of E. coli core metabolism was stable for 38
only a small fraction of flux and concentration sets consistent with its kinetic parameters (Chakrabarti 39
et al., 2013). Similarly, Steuer et al. (2006) sampled thousands of parameter sets for a kinetic model 40
of yeast glycolysis and found that over 80% of resulting steady states were unstable. These narrow 41
stability ranges suggest that environmental perturbations can readily destabilize cellular metabolism. 42
Yet, despite the fragility predicted by models, real cells maintain stable metabolic states as 43
temperature and nutrient availability change (Phadtare, 2004; Phadtare & Inouye, 2008; Riccardi et 44
al., 2023; Zhang & Gross, 2021). This discrepancy implies the existence of mechanisms that stabilize 45
metabolism. Indeed, cells adjust enzyme levels and pathway activities in response to environmental 46
cues (Jozefczuk et al., 2010; Schmidt et al., 2016; Ye et al., 2012; Zhao et al., 2024). However, how 47
such regulation preserves dynamic stability remains unclear. 48
Among environmental perturbations, temperature shifts directly and broadly affect 49
metabolism (Noll et al., 2020; Wendering & Nikoloski, 2023). Temperature modulates the rate 50
constants of all intracellular reactions, with magnitudes set by each reaction’s activation free energy 51
(Evans & Polanyi, 1935; Eyring, 1935). Because forward and reverse reactions need not respond 52
identically, temperature changes can alter both rates and reversibility, reshaping flux throughout the 53
network. Such nonuniform effects may destabilize steady states. Clarifying how cells prevent this 54
outcome would reveal general principles of metabolic robustness. 55
Here, we investigate mechanisms that keep complex metabolic systems stable under 56
temperature-induced parameter perturbations. Using a kinetic model of E. coli central metabolism 57
constructed from experimental data, we varied model parameters continuously with temperature and 58
observed a bifurcation: the system transitioned discontinuously to a new steady state. The post-59
bifurcation state exhibited an elevated A TP/ADP ratio and reduced A TP production efficiency. 60
Imposing operations that maintain the ATP/ADP ratio during the temperature shift eliminated the 61
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
bifurcation and preserved ATP production efficiency even at low temperatures. Moreover, adjusting 62
enzyme abundances to increase A TP-utilizing reaction rates stabilized the ATP/ADP ratio. These 63
Results
indicate that maintaining the balance of key cofactors is critical for stabilizing metabolic 64
systems under parameter perturbations caused by environmental change. 65
66
Results
67
Temperature decrease induces a bifurcation 68
To examine how a low-temperature shift affects the metabolic state of E. coli central metabolism, we 69
simulated metabolic dynamics using rate constants adjusted for different temperatures. Figure 1 shows 70
the reaction network of the kinetic model used in this study (see Materials and Methods for details). 71
Rate constants at each temperature were calculated using the Eyring–Polanyi equation. We focused on 72
temperature downshifts because heating can cause irreversible enzyme inactivation, which is not 73
captured by the standard Eyring–Polanyi formulation (Arcus & Mulholland, 2020; Noll et al., 2020). 74
Activation free energies (∆𝐺‡) for individual reactions were obtained from parameter values fitted to 75
the in vivo metabolic state at 37 °C reported by Khodayari et al. (2014) (see Materials and Methods 76
for the details). Without a temperature shift, the system converges to a stable steady state in which 77
glucose serves as the sole carbon source and ATP is produced via glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and the 78
electron transport chain (ETC). We refer to this as the “original steady state” throughout the paper. 79
When the temperature is lowered from 37 °C to 0 °C, each rate constant decreases according 80
to its activation free energy. As a result, the distribution of rate constants shifts, and the median value 81
decreases by about 10-fold (Figure 2A). We simulated system dynamics using the rate constants at 82
0 °C, starting from the original steady state. Numerical simulations showed that metabolite 83
concentrations converged to a new stable steady state (Figure 2B). Compared with the original state, 84
metabolite concentrations in this new steady state changed by factors ranging from 10ିଽ to 10ସ —85
far greater than the fold change observed in the median rate constant. 86
To determine the temperature at which this substantial shift occurs, we tracked the steady 87
state as the temperature was gradually decreased from 37 °C to 0 °C. At each step, system dynamics 88
were integrated up to 𝑡 = 10ଵ 𝑠 to ensure convergence, and the resulting concentrations were used 89
as initial conditions for the next step, with temperature reduced by 0.1 °C. At 14.2 °C, the steady state 90
shifted discontinuously, with abrupt changes in the concentrations of all metabolites (Figure 2C shows 91
one example; Supplementary Figure S1 presents all metabolite concentrations at the converged state 92
across temperatures). Reaction rates also changed discontinuously, and relative changes compared 93
with the original steady state are shown in Figure 2D. 94
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
95
96
Figure 1. Reaction network of the kinetic model used in our simulations. Although each reaction was
decomposed into elementary steps for the simulations, the network is shown here with the pre -
decomposition reactions for clarity.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
This discontinuous shift could arise from either the disappearance or destabilization of the 97
original steady state, or from a switch between coexisting attractors. To discriminate between these 98
possibilities, we enumerated multiple stable steady states across temperatures including the transition 99
point. We generated 10,000 random initial conditions by scaling each chemical concentration of the 100
original steady state by 10 (ିଷ . ,ଷ . ). Here 𝑈(𝑎, 𝑏) denotes a uniform distribution ranging from 𝑎 101
to 𝑏. We sampled initial conditions uniformly in the logarithmic scale over the interval (10ିଷ , 10ଷ ). 102
See Materials and Methods for details of sampling procedure. Starting from each of these points, we 103
numerically integrated the system dynamics to 𝑡 = 10ଵ 𝑠 and checked convergence for all cases. 104
This procedure revealed three coexisting stable steady states above 14.2 °C and two below 105
it. These results indicate that the discontinuous shift arises from a bifurcation, in which the 106
physiologically relevant steady state above 14.2 °C becomes destabilized as temperature decreases. 107
Bifurcation diagrams for all small molecules are provided in Supplementary Figure S1. Notably, the 108
disappearing steady state corresponds to the physiological E. coli state, characterized by aerobic 109
respiration and A TP production from glucose. 110
Examination of the steady state after the bifurcation revealed substantial changes in 111
metabolic fluxes and ATP production efficiency. The discontinuous shift caused glycolytic and TCA 112
cycle fluxes to decrease by factors of 100–1,000, while flux through the pentose phosphate pathway 113
(PPP) increased (Figure 2D). As a result, ATP yield—defined as the sum of ATP-producing fluxes 114
divided by the glucose uptake rate—declined following the temperature-induced bifurcation (Figure 115
2E). 116
To investigate the cause of the decreased ATP yield, we examined metabolite concentrations 117
along glycolysis and the TCA cycle. While most metabolite levels decreased after the temperature-118
induced bifurcation, the concentration of D-glycerate 1,3-diphosphate (13dpg) increased by two orders 119
of magnitude compared with its pre-bifurcation level (Figure 2C; Supplementary Figure S1). Despite 120
this elevation, the reaction degrading 13dpg—catalyzed by phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), which 121
converts 13dpg and ADP to 3-phosphoglycerate and ATP in glycolysis (Figure 1)—showed a reduced 122
rate. This reduction was caused by a ~40-fold increase in the ATP/ADP ratio, driven by elevated ATP 123
and decreased ADP concentrations (Figure 2F; Supplementary Figure S1). Because the PGK reaction 124
lies near the center of glycolysis, its slowdown created a bottleneck that diminished flux through both 125
glycolysis and the downstream TCA cycle. 126
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
127
128
Figure 2. (A) Distribution of reaction rate constants in the system. (B) Time courses of relative
metabolite concentrations with all rate constants fixed at their values for 0ௗ°C and initial concentrations
set to the original steady state; each line represents an individual metabolite. (C) Steady- state
concentration of D-glycerate 1,3- bisphosphate at each temperature. (D) Relative reaction rates at
steady state for each temperature, normalized to the rates at the original steady state. (E, F) Steady-
state ATP yield (E) and A TP/ADP ratio (F) at each temperature.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Fixing the ATP/ADP ratio prevents the temperature-induced bifurcation 129
The above results suggested that a sudden rise in the ATP/ADP ratio can trigger the temperature-130
induced bifurcation. To investigate this relationship, we maintained the A TP/ADP ratio nearly constant 131
by introducing a rapid, reversible ATP–ADP exchange reaction into the system. Because the ATP/ADP 132
ratio at the steady state before the bifurcation was approximately 1:1, the forward and reverse rate 133
constants were set to 10⁶, far exceeding the median values of other reactions in the model. A detailed 134
procedure for fixing the ATP/ADP ratio during temperature decrease is provided in Materials and 135
Methods. 136
The modified model with the ATP–ADP exchange reaction maintained a single, stable 137
steady state under the 37 ௗ°C parameter conditions. The resulting concentrations of 13dpg, the 138
ATP/ADP ratio, and the ATP yield were similar to those of the original steady state (Figure ௗ3A–C). 139
With the exchange reaction, lowering the temperature from 37ௗ°C to 0ௗ°C no longer caused a sharp rise 140
in 13dpg concentration or discontinuous changes in pathway fluxes, as shown by the relative changes 141
in reaction rates (Figureௗ3D). Consistently, the A TP/ADP ratio remained near unity, and the ATP yield 142
showed no abrupt decline across the temperature range (Figureௗ3B,ௗC). To test for multiple attractors 143
at each temperature, we generated 10,000 random initial points by scaling each metabolite 144
concentration of the original steady state by 10 (ିଷ . ,ଷ . ) and simulated the dynamics until 145
convergence. All trajectories converged to a single steady state at every temperature. These results 146
indicate that, if the ATP/ADP ratio is fixed at approximately 1.0, the system does not undergo 147
bifurcation, even though individual reaction rate constants still vary with temperature. 148
149
Maintaining the ATP yield by adjusting enzyme abundances 150
The analysis in the previous section demonstrated that the ATP yield can be maintained at a high level 151
by fixing the ATP/ADP ratio using a rapid, reversible ATP–ADP exchange reaction. However, cells do 152
not naturally possess such a reaction, and precise control of the ATP/ADP ratio in this manner is 153
biologically implausible. Instead, cells adjust intracellular enzyme abundances to adapt to diverse 154
environmental perturbations, including temperature fluctuations, osmotic stress, oxidative conditions, 155
and nutrient limitations (Jozefczuk et al., 2010; Schmidt et al., 2016; Ye et al., 2012; Zhao et al., 2024). 156
We therefore investigated whether ATP yield could be maintained under decreasing temperatures by 157
modulating enzyme abundances. To this end, we sampled steady states with varied enzyme levels 158
under low-temperature conditions and identified enzyme abundances that supported a high A TP yield. 159
160
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
161
162
Figure 3. Changes in steady states of the modified model with A TP/ADP ratio homeostasis. (A)
Steady-state concentration of D-glycerate 1,3-bisphosphate at each temperature. (B, C) Steady- state
ATP/ADP ratio (B) and A TP yield (C) at each temperature. (D) Relative changes in reaction rates at
steady state for each temperature.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
A naïve approach of randomly varying enzyme levels and integrating the system dynamics 163
until convergence for each set would require computationally intensive simulations. To overcome this, 164
we developed a faster method to sample numerous low-temperature steady states. Because every 165
reaction in our model is decomposed into elementary steps, each reaction rate function depends on at 166
most one or two variables and follows mass-action kinetics. Consequently, the rate functions are at 167
most quadratic polynomials, with the second variable, if present, corresponding to the concentration 168
of a small-molecule substrate. By fixing the concentrations of small molecules near their values in the 169
original steady state, the rate functions become linear, transforming the system of differential equations 170
into a linear one. Steady states of this linear system can then be obtained simply by solving a linear 171
equation (equationௗ(7) in Materials and Methods). 172
The linearized system has infinitely many steady states. To sample one, we first selected a 173
random reference point of enzyme abundances 𝑥 , near those of the original steady state. Each 174
concentration in the original steady state was multiplied by a value drawn from a log-normal 175
distribution over the interval (1/3, 3.0). Broadening this range reduces the fraction of sampled states 176
that are stable, so we chose the widest interval that still yielded stable solutions with reasonable 177
frequency. We then solved a linear optimization problem to identify the steady state closest to 𝑥 , 178
subject to additional constraints: (1) the glucose transport reaction must proceed inward while other 179
transport reactions act outward, and (2) the total enzyme amount must equal that of the original steady 180
state. These transport constraints were imposed to ensure the biological plausibility of the sampled 181
steady states. A mathematical formulation and detailed description of the sampling procedure are 182
provided in Materials and Methods. This approach samples steady states more efficiently than the 183
naïve method. Because stability was not enforced during sampling, we assessed it post hoc using the 184
Jacobian matrix at each steady state. Materials and Methods also describe how steady states were 185
classified as stable based on the Jacobian. 186
Using this method, we sampled 5,000 steady states with rate constants corresponding to 0 ௗ°C and 187
visualized the 94-dimensional enzyme profiles in two dimensions via principal component analysis 188
(PCA; Figureௗ4A). Among all computed solutions, the stable steady states were concentrated in a 189
specific region, where TCA cycle enzyme levels were elevated. Figure ௗ4B shows the sum of TCA 190
enzyme abundances at each steady state in the PCA plot. These results suggest that increasing TCA 191
cycle enzyme concentrations is important for stabilizing the metabolic state under low-temperature 192
conditions. 193
194
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
195
196
Figure 4. (A) PCA plot of 94- dimensional enzyme abundances at steady states obtained with
parameters for 0 ௗ°C. Explained variance: PC1, 16.9%; PC2, 4.7%. Stability of each steady state is
indicated by color: blue, stable; grey, unstable. (B) TCA cycle enzyme abundances (color- coded) at
steady states under low-temperature conditions. (C) Box plot of ATP yield for stable steady states at
each temperature.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
The above results demonstrate that adjusting enzyme abundances allows the system to 197
achieve stable steady states near the original steady state, even under low-temperature conditions. 198
However, ATP yields at these stable states are not necessarily high. To evaluate A TP yield under low 199
temperatures, we sampled stable steady states across temperatures from 37ௗ°C to 0ௗ°C using the same 200
Method
and assessed their A TP production. The A TP yield remained high even at low temperatures. 201
Figureௗ4C shows box plots of ATP yields for stable steady states at 37 ௗ°C, 19ௗ°C, and 0 ௗ°C. These 202
findings indicate that cells can maintain a high ATP yield during a low-temperature shift by modulating 203
enzyme abundances. 204
In practice, cells may not experience a sudden drop in temperature but rather undergo 205
gradual cooling. We therefore investigated which enzyme reallocations would allow the system to 206
maintain a high ATP yield as temperature decreases from 37 °C to 0ௗ°C. To do this, we fixed the target 207
concentrations of free enzymes and substrate-enzyme complexes ( 𝑥 ), and computed the steady-208
state enzyme abundances at each temperature. Along this path, enzyme levels at stable steady states 209
changed with temperature: TCA cycle enzymes increased, whereas ETC enzyme levels decreased. 210
Figuresௗ5A and 5B show the summed abundances of TCA cycle and ETC enzymes at stable steady 211
states across temperatures. This trend is consistent with experimental observations that cold-adapted 212
cells upregulate TCA cycle enzymes and downregulate ATP synthase subunits (Knapp et ௗal., 2024; 213
Phadtare & Inouye, 2004). 214
Because rate constants also vary with temperature, changes in enzyme abundance do not 215
translate directly into proportional changes in flux. Therefore, to understand how enzyme adjustments 216
maintain a high ATP yield during cooling, it is essential to examine the resulting metabolic fluxes 217
rather than enzyme levels alone. We analyzed reaction rates normalized by glucose influx to 218
investigate flux-level modulations arising from enzyme redistribution. The analysis revealed that, as 219
temperature decreased, normalized flux through the TCA cycle increased, along with fluxes of 220
reactions involved in ATP synthesis or consumption. Figuresௗ5C and 5D show the summed reaction 221
fluxes of the TCA cycle and ATP-utilizing reactions at stable steady states for each temperature. These 222
findings indicate that the adjusted enzyme abundances enhanced ATP–ADP turnover, analogous to the 223
rapid ATP–ADP exchange artificially imposed in the previous section. Together, these results suggest 224
that maintaining a high A TP/ADP ratio through increased cofactor turnover allows cells to sustain high 225
ATP yield even at low temperatures. 226
227
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
228
Figure 5. (A, B) Changes in the summed abundances of TCA cycle enzymes (A) and ETC enzymes
(B) at stable steady states across temperatures. Each line represents one 𝒙𝒓𝒆𝒇. (C, D) Changes in the
summed absolute values of TCA cycle reaction rates (C) and A TP-utilizing reaction rates (D), both
normalized to glucose influx, at stable steady states across temperatures. Each line represents one
𝒙𝒓𝒆𝒇.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Discussion
229
In this study, we computationally investigated how perturbations in environmental parameters 230
influence the stability of a metabolic state. By varying rate constants in a temperature-dependent 231
manner, we found that lowering the temperature caused a bifurcation and a steep drop in the ATP yield. 232
This finding provides a model-based illustration of how complex metabolic systems can be 233
destabilized by parameter perturbations (Chakrabarti et al., 2013; Murayama et al., 2017; Steuer et al., 234
2006). 235
One way to maintain a high ATP yield was to keep the ATP/ADP ratio constant through 236
external control. Several studies have reported that coenzymes such as ATP and ADP exert a major 237
influence on the perturbation responses of kinetic models (Hatakeyama & Furusawa, 2017; Himeoka 238
& Mitarai 2022 ; Himeoka & Furusawa, 2025). In our model, fixing this cofactor ratio preserved a 239
stable metabolic state across the temperature range and maintained a high A TP yield as shown in Figure 240
3C. We also demonstrated that the A TP yield can be maintained at a high level by adjusting enzyme 241
abundances. Under such enzyme-tuning scenarios, the relative flux through A TP-utilizing reactions 242
increased, keeping the A TP/ADP ratio nearly constant. Thus, regulation of enzyme abundances can, in 243
principle, achieve the same effect as cofactor-ratio control. 244
Analysis of enzyme abundances to maintain the ATP yield revealed an increase in the TCA 245
cycle enzymes and a decrease in ETC enzymes. This trend aligns with experimental reports that E. 246
coli increases the TCA cycle enzyme levels and decreases ATP synthase subunits under cold 247
temperature (Knapp et al., 2024; Phadtare & Inouye, 2004) . This suggests that cells may modulate 248
enzyme abundances in vivo to maintain the ATP/ADP ratio and prevent an abrupt shift in their 249
metabolic state. Nevertheless, these findings require experimental validation, such as comprehensive 250
fluxomic analyses that cover pathways beyond our model. 251
Our analysis perturbed only temperature, starting from parameters fitted to the 37ௗ°C metabolic state. 252
Therefore, the conclusions depend on that particular parameter set. Additionally, the model is limited 253
to central metabolism and omits lipid pathways and many amino-acid biosynthesis routes that are 254
reported to be important for cold adaptation (Phadtare & Inouye, 2008; Zhang & Gross, 2021) . 255
Network structure modifications in kinetic models are known to exert strong influences on responses 256
for parameter perturbations (Hishida et al., 2023). Future work can probe cellular responses to cooling 257
with higher quantitative accuracy using a more detailed network and more precise temperature 258
dependence of parameters. 259
The same computational framework can be applied to environmental perturbations beyond 260
temperature. By allowing kinetic parameters to vary with factors such as pH, osmotic pressure, or 261
nutrient availability, we can reveal which metabolic functions become unstable and what operations—262
such as cofactor balance control or targeted enzyme tuning—can restore stability. 263
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Overall, our results highlight the latent risk of destabilization in complex metabolic systems 264
under environmental perturbations and identify cofactor balance—specifically the ATP/ADP ratio—265
as a critical variable for maintaining stability. Applying this approach to other external parameters may 266
allow systematic identification of key variables that cells must regulate to preserve metabolic stability. 267
Such insights would advance our understanding of the principles underlying biological robustness. 268
269
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
270
Supplementary Figure S1. Bifurcation diagram of small chemicals. The blue line represents the
steady state used for parameter fitting in Khodayari etௗal. (2014) at 37ௗ°C, while the red and grey lines
correspond to steady states that exist below 14.2 ௗ°C. The steady state at the blue line shifts to that
represented by the red line due to the temperature-induced bifurcation.
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
271
Reaction Pathway Formula
2DDA7Ptpp_ex 1 2dda7p
3PGtpp_ex 1 3pg
ACALD
1 acald + 1 coa + 1 nad 1 accoa + 1 nadh
ACALDtpp_ex
1 acald =>
ACK
1 ac + 1 atp 1 actp + 1 adp
ACONTa TCA cycle 1 cit 1 acon-C + 1 h2o
ACONTb TCA cycle 1 acon-C + 1 h2o 1 icit
ACS
1 ac + 1 atp + 1 coa 1 accoa + 1 amp
ACt2rpp_ex_H
1 ac =>
ADK
1 amp + 1 atp 2 adp
AKGDH TCA cycle 1 akg + 1 coa + 1 nad 1 nadh + 1 succoa
AKGt2rpp_ex
1 akg
ALCD
1 etoh + 1 nad 1 acald + 1 nadh
ATPM
1 atp 1 adp
ATPS Electron
transport chain
1 adp 1 atp
CS TCA cycle 1 accoa + 1 oaa 1 cit + 1 coa
CYTBD Electron
transport chain
1 q8h2 1 q8
DDPA Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 e4p + 1 pep 1 2dda7p
DHAPtpp_ex
1 dhap
D-LACt2pp_ex_H
1 lac-D =>
E4Ptpp_ex
1 e4p
EDA
1 2ddg6p 1 g3p + 1 pyr
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
EDD
1 6pgc 1 2ddg6p
ENO Glycolysis 1 2pg 1 pep
ETOHt2rpp_ex_H
1 etoh =>
F6Ptpp_ex
1 f6p
FBA Glycolysis 1 fdp 1 dhap + 1 g3p
FBP Glycolysis 1 fdp 1 f6p
FBP_Glpx
1 fdp 1 f6p
FORt2pp_ex_H
1 for =>
FORtppi_ex
1 for =>
FRD TCA cycle 1 fum + 1 q8h2 1 q8 + 1 succ
FRUpts2pp_ex
1 1 f6p + 1 pyr => 1 pep
FUM TCA cycle 1 fum 1 mal
FUMt2_2pp_ex_H
1 fum =>
G3Ptpp_ex
1 g3p
G6PDH Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 g6p + 1 nadp 1 6pgl + 1 nadph
GAPD Glycolysis 1 g3p + 1 nad 1 13dpg + 1 nadh
GLCptspp_ex_exi Glycolysis 1 pep 1 g6p + 1 pyr
GLCS
1 adpglc 1 adp+ 1 glycogen
GLGC
1 atp + 1 g1p 1 adpglc
GLNS
1 atp + 1 glu 1 adp + 1 gln
GLUD
1 glu + 1 nadp 1 akg + 1 nadph
GLUN
1 gln 1 glu
GLUS
1 akg + 1 gln + 1 nadph 2 glu + 1 nadp
GLUt2rpp_ex_H
1 glu =>
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
GND Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 6pgc + 1 nadp 1 nadph + 1 ru5p
HEX
1 atp + 1 glc-D 1 adp + 1 g6p
ICDH TCA cycle 1 icit + 1 nadp 1 akg + 1 nadph
ICL
1 icit 1 glx + 1 succ
LDH
1 lac-D + 1 nad 1 nadh + 1 pyr
MALS
1 accoa + 1 glx 1 coa + 1 mal
MALt2_2pp_ex_H
1 mal =>
MDH TCA cycle 1 mal + 1 nad 1 nadh + 1 oaa
MDH2 TCA cycle 1 mal + q8 oaa + q8h2
ME1
1 mal + 1 nad 1 nadh + 1 pyr
ME2
1 mal + 1 nadp 1 nadph + 1 pyr
NADH Electron
transport chain
1 nadh + 1 q8 1 nad + 1 q8h2
NADTRHD
1 nad + 1 nadph 1 nadh + 1 nadp
OAAtpp_ex
1 oaa
PDH Glycolysis 1 coa + 1 nad + 1 pyr 1 accoa + 1 nadh
PEPtpp_ex
1 pep
PFKA Glycolysis 1 atp + 1 f6p 1 adp + 1 fdp
PFKB Glycolysis 1 atp + 1 f6p 1 adp + 1 fdp
PFL
1 coa + 1 pyr 1 accoa + 1 for
PGI Glycolysis 1 g6p 1 f6p
PGK Glycolysis 1 13dpg + 1 adp 1 3pg + 1 atp
PGL Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 6pgl 1 6pgc
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
PGL_spon Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 6pgl 1 6pgc
PGM Glycolysis 1 2pg 1 3pg
PGMT
1 g1p 1 g6p
PPC
1 pep 1 oaa
PPCK
1 atp + 1 oaa 1 adp + 1 pep
PPS Glycolysis 1 atp + 1 pyr 1 amp + 1 pep
PTA
1 accoa 1 actp + 1 coa
PYKA Glycolysis 1 adp + 1 pep 1 atp + 1 pyr
PYKF Glycolysis 1 adp + 1 pep 1 atp + 1 pyr
PYRpp_ex
1 pyr
PYRt2rpp_ex_H
1 pyr
R5PP Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 r5p 1 rib
RIB_Dtpp_ex
1 rib
RPE Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 ru5p 1 xu5p
RPI Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 r5p 1 ru5p
RU5Ptpp_ex
1 ru5p =>
S7Ptpp_ex
1 s7p =>
SUCCt2_2pp_ex_H
1 succ =>
SUCCt3pp_ex_H
1 succ
SUCD TCA cycle 1 q8 + 1 succ 1 fum + 1 q8h2
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
SUCOAS TCA cycle 1 atp + 1 coa + 1 succ 1 adp + 1 succoa
TALA Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 g3p + 1 s7p 1 e4p + 1 f6p
THD
1 nadh + 1 nadp 1 nad + 1 nadph
TKT1 Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 r5p + 1 xu5p 1 g3p + 1 s7p
TKT2 Pentose
phosphate
pathway
1 e4p + 1 xu5p 1 f6p + 1 g3p
TPI Glycolysis 1 dhap 1 g3p
272
Supplementary Table S1. List of all reactions in the model used in our simulations. 273
274
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Reaction Regulator Regulation Type
ACALD amp Inhibition
EDA 6pgc Inhibition
EDA g3p Inhibition
FBA dhap Inhibition
FBP adp Inhibition
FBP amp Inhibition
FBP pi Inhibition
FBP pep Inhibition
FUM cit Inhibition
G6PDH nadh Inhibition
G6PDH nadph Inhibition
GLGC amp Inhibition
GLUN adp Inhibition
GLUN atp Inhibition
GLUN glu Inhibition
GLUN nad Inhibition
GLUN nadh Inhibition
GLUN nadp Inhibition
GLUN nadph Inhibition
GLUN pi Inhibition
GLUS glu Inhibition
GND atp Inhibition
GND ru5p Inhibition
GND fdp Inhibition
GND nadp Inhibition
ICDH glx Inhibition
ICDH oxa Inhibition
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
ICDH pep Inhibition
ICL akg Inhibition
ICL acon Inhibition
ICL pep Inhibition
ICL succ Inhibition
LDH atp Inhibition
PGI 6pgc Inhibition
PGI pep Inhibition
PGMT accoa Inhibition
PGMT g1p Inhibition
PPC mal Inhibition
PPC pep Inhibition
PPCK atp Inhibition
PPCK pep Inhibition
PPS akg Inhibition
PPS adp Inhibition
PPS amp Inhibition
PPS oaa Inhibition
PPS pep Inhibition
PTA adp Inhibition
PTA atp Inhibition
PTA nadh Inhibition
PTA nadph Inhibition
PTA pep Inhibition
PTA pyr Inhibition
PYKA PYKF atp Inhibition
PYKA PYKF succoa Inhibition
RPI amp Inhibition
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
TALA pi Inhibition
275
Supplementary Table S2. List of all regulations in the model used in our simulations. 276
277
278
279
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Materials and methods
280
281
Model Description 282
The model used in this analysis is based on the model from Himeoka et al. (2025), which is a modified 283
version of the Khodayari et al. (2014) model, adjusted to ensure the existence of a stable steady state. 284
In the present study, the parameters of inflow and outflow reactions were further modified so that 285
glucose serves as the sole carbon source in the temperature range used for the simulations. The model 286
includes glycolysis, the TCA cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), glutamine synthesis, the 287
electron transport chain (ETC), and the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. See Supplementary Table S1 and 288
S2 for complete reaction formulae, pathway components, and regulations. 289
In our model, all reactions are decomposed into elementary reactions that represent 290
substrate-enzyme binding and dissociation. This is illustrated using a simple reversible reaction as 291
follows: 292
For a reversible reaction A + B ⇌ C catalyzed by an enzyme E, we write: 293
A + E ⇌ EA 294
EA + B ⇌ EAB 295
EAB ⇌ EC 296
EC ⇌ E + C. 297
All steps are reversible, and the forward and reverse directions are treated as distinct elementary 298
reactions. The total concentration of free and complex enzymes does not change in time: 299
[𝐸] + [𝐸𝐴] + [𝐸𝐴𝐵] + [𝐸𝐶] = const. 303
The rates of these elementary reactions are calculated based on mass-action kinetics. Note that in our 300
model, chemical concentrations are dimensionless because they are normalized to 1.0 at the reference 301
steady state as a standard procedure in ensemble modeling (Khodayari et al., 2014; Tran et al., 2008). 302
In our model, the time evolution of concentrations is described by an ODE system 304
𝑑𝑥(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡 = 𝑆𝑟൫𝑥(𝑡); 𝑘(𝑇)൯, (1) 311
where 𝑥 is the concentration vector of small molecules, free enzymes, and substrate-enzyme 305
complexes; 𝑆 is the stoichiometric matrix; 𝑘(𝑇) is the set of rate constants at temperature 𝑇; and 306
𝑟(𝑥) is the vector of reaction rate functions. All reactions are decomposed into elementary reactions, 307
and each reaction rate is modeled by the law of mass action 308
𝑟(𝑥) = 𝑘(𝑇) ෑ 𝑥
ఔ ೕ
ୀଵ
, (2) 312
with exponents 𝜈 ∈ {0,1} determined by the stoichiometry and 𝑘(𝑇) the temperature-dependent 309
rate constants (specified in the next section). 310
ODE simulations were performed using the ode15s function in MATLAB (The MathWorks 313
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Inc., 2023). 314
315
Temperature-Dependent Rate Constants 316
Rate constants were adjusted with the Eyring-Polanyi equation 317
𝑘(𝑇) = 𝑘 𝑇
ℎ exp ቆ − ∆𝐺‡
𝑅𝑇 ቇ (3) 324
for each temperature. Here, 𝑘 is the rate constant, ℎ is the Planck constant, 𝑘 is the Boltzmann 318
constant, 𝑅 is the gas constant, and 𝑇 is the absolute temperature (𝐾). The activation free energy 319
∆𝐺‡ for each reaction is back-calculated from parameter values obtained in Khodayari et al. 2014 320
using the following equation: 321
∆𝐺‡ = −𝑅𝑇 ln ቆ 𝑘∗ ℎ
𝑘 𝑇
ቇ , (4) 325
with 𝑇 = 310.15, and 𝑘∗ is the rate constant at 𝑇 . Based on this value, reaction rate constants 322
at altered temperatures were calculated. 323
326
Maintaining the ATP/ADP Ratio 327
To forcibly maintain the ATP/ADP ratio while lowering the temperature, we added a new reversible 328
reaction that exchanges A TP and ADP to the model. The rate constant for this exchange was set to 329
10 , a value larger than the median of all rate constants at 37 °C. During low-temperature simulations, 330
this constant was not adjusted for temperature dependence. The concentrations of the free metabolites 331
at the steady state are normalized to unity in the ensemble modeling procedure carried out for the 332
model construction in Khodayari et al. (2014). Thus, ATP/ADP ratio in the original model is 1:1 in the 333
scale of normalized concentrations. Therefore, the force-balancing A TP/ADP ratio to unity 334
corresponds to the recovery of the ATP/ADP ratio in the original model. 335
336
Perturbed Initial Condition Sampling Procedure 337
To identify multiple stable steady states in the system, we perform numerical integrations starting from 338
perturbed initial conditions with specified temperature parameters. These initial conditions are 339
generated by multiplying the concentrations of an original steady state by random values with ensuring 340
that the conserved quantities are not changed. 341
If a vector 𝑑 satisfies 342
𝑑 𝑆 = 0, 345
then the inner product of 𝑑 and a concentration vector 𝑥 does not change in time, since 343
𝑑
𝑑𝑡 (𝑑 𝑥) = 0. 346
344
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
If random perturbations are applied directly to the concentrations of the original steady state 347
𝑥 , the resulting concentration vector 𝑥ௗ will generally have conserved quantities different from 348
those of 𝑥 . To obtain perturbed concentrations that preserve the conserved quantities of 𝑥 , we 349
search for the point closest to 𝑥ௗ that satisfies the conservation constraints. 350
This is formulated as the following optimization problem: 351
𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑒 ‖𝑥 − 𝑥ௗ ‖ଵ 354
𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 355
𝑑
𝑥 = 𝑑
𝑥 , for all 𝑖. 356
Where {𝑑} form a basis of ker 𝑆 . This optimization is done using Gurobi Optimizer (Gurobi 352
Optimization, 2024). 353
357
Steady State Sampling Procedure 358
To identify enzyme abundances that yield a stable metabolic state with low-temperature parameters, 359
we sampled steady states for each temperature-specific parameter set and computed the corresponding 360
enzyme abundances. Each reaction is decomposed into elementary reactions whose reactants are (i) 361
substrate and enzyme, (ii) substrate and substrate-enzyme complex, or (iii) substrate-enzyme complex 362
only. Therefore, each reaction rate function is a first- or second-order monomial in its variables. 363
Fixing concentrations of substrates (small molecules) at their values near the original steady 364
state turns every rate into a linear function of the free-enzyme or substrate-enzyme complex 365
concentrations. 𝑥௭௬ is a vector of the remaining variables, i.e., the concentrations of free 366
enzymes and substrate-enzyme complexes. Using a matrix 𝑉, whose non-zero values are determined 367
by the temperature-specific rate constants and the fixed substrate concentrations, we have 368
𝑟 = 𝑉𝑥௭௬ (5) 370
where 𝑟 is the vector of reaction rates. 369
For example, if the system has only one reaction A + B ⇌ C catalyzed by an enzyme E, 371
reaction rate functions are 372
𝑟 =
⎝
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎛
𝑘ଵ [𝐴][𝐸]
𝑘ଵ [𝐸𝐴]
𝑘ଶ [𝐸𝐴][𝐵]
𝑘ଶ [𝐸𝐴𝐵]
𝑘ଷ [𝐸𝐴𝐵]
𝑘ଷ [𝐸𝐶]
𝑘ସ [𝐸𝐶]
𝑘ସ [𝐸][𝐶] ⎠
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎞
, 375
where 𝑘 is rate constant of forward or backward direction of each elementary reaction. When the 373
substrate concentrations are fixed at ([𝐴]∗, [𝐵]∗, [𝐶]∗) , the rate functions can be rewritten as 374
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
𝑟 =
⎝
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎛
𝑘ଵ [𝐴]∗ 0 0 0
0 𝑘ଵ 0 0
0 𝑘ଶ [𝐵]∗ 0 0
0 0 𝑘ଶ 0
0 0 𝑘ଷ 0
0 0 0 𝑘ଷ
0 0 0 𝑘ସ
𝑘ସ [𝐶]∗ 0 0 0 ⎠
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎞
൮
[𝐸]
[𝐸𝐴]
[𝐸𝐴𝐵]
[𝐸𝐶]
൲ . 376
Using submatrix of the stoichiometric matrix corresponding to the remaining variables, 377
denoted as 𝑆௭௬ , the time-course change of 𝑥௭௬ can be written as 378
𝑑𝑥௭௬
𝑑𝑡 = 𝑆௭௬ 𝑉𝑥௭௬ . (6) 380
Therefore, steady-state solutions are obtained just by solving 379
𝑆௭௬ 𝑉𝑥௭௬ = 0. (7) 381
Eq. (7) is less-determined linear equation when 𝑆௭௬ 𝑉 is not full-rank. In that case, Eq. 382
(7) has infinitely many solutions. Among such solutions of Eq. (7), we select the one closest to a 383
Reference
point ൫𝑥 ൯, which is randomly sampled around the enzyme abundances of the original 384
steady state. We also require steady states that 385
1. Glucose is a single energy resource, and transport reactions of other chemicals work as efflux. 386
2. The total enzyme abundance of all reactions is equal to that of the original steady state. 387
Steady states satisfying those conditions are obtained by solving the following optimization problem: 388
𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑒 ‖𝑥௭௬ − 𝑥 ‖ଵ 392
𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 393
𝑆௭௬ 𝑉𝑥௭௬ = 0 394
𝑥௭௬ ,
= const. 395
𝑣ீ௨௦ூ௨௧ > 0 396
𝑣ை௧்௦ < 0 397
The solution 𝑥௭௬ obtained from this optimization, together with the fixed small molecule 389
concentrations near the 37 °C steady state, yields a steady state of the full system. These optimizations 390
are done using Gurobi Optimizer (Gurobi Optimization, 2024). 391
398
Stability Assessment of Steady States 399
The stability of each steady state found by the optimization was determined by computing the 400
eigenvalues of the system’s Jacobi matrix at the steady state. The model contains 98 conserved 401
quantities, so the full 643 × 643 Jacobi matrix has 98 zero eigenvalues. The zero eigenvalues are often 402
tricky to distinguish from the very small, non-zero eigenvalues due to numerical errors. Thus, we 403
avoided obtaining zero eigenvalues by pre-solving the dependent variables using the conserved 404
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
quantities. Note that one conserved quantity leads to a single linear equation. For each conserved 405
quantity, we choose a single chemical species and solve for its concentration as a function of the 406
remaining species’ concentrations. From this pre-solved ODE system, we obtain the reduced 545 × 407
545 Jacobi matrix. A steady state was classified as unstable if the largest real part of any eigenvalue 408
of the reduced Jacobi matrix was positive. All eigenvalues were computed with interval-arithmetic 409
routines in INTLAB, ensuring that numerical errors did not flip the sign of any eigenvalue (Rump, 410
1999). 411
412
Acknowledgements
413
This work is supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI (23KJ1324 to A . H.; 22K15069, 24H01118 and 414
25H01390 to Y . H.; 22K21344 and 23H0247 to C. F.), and GteX Program Japan Grant No. 415
JPMJGX23B4. 416
417
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
References
418
Arcus, V . L., & Mulholland, A. J. (2020). Temperature, Dynamics, and Enzyme-Catalyzed Reaction 419
Rates. Annual Review of Biophysics, 49(1), 163–180. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-biophys-420
121219-081520 421
Chakrabarti, A., Miskovic, L., Soh, K. C., & Hatzimanikatis, V . (2013). Towards kinetic modeling of 422
genome-scale metabolic networks without sacrificing stoichiometric, thermodynamic and 423
physiological constraints. Biotechnology Journal , 8(9), 1043–1057. 424
https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201300091 425
Christodoulou, D., Link, H., Fuhrer, T., Kochanowski, K., Gerosa, L., & Sauer, U. (2018). Reserve 426
Flux Capacity in the Pentose Phosphate Pathway Enables Escherichia coli’s Rapid Response to 427
Oxidative Stress. Cell Systems, 6(5), 569-578.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2018.04.009 428
El-Samad, H., Kurata, H., Doyle, J. C., Gross, C. A., & Khammash, M. (2005). Surviving heat shock: 429
Control strategies for robustness and performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of 430
Sciences, 102(8), 2736–2741. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403510102 431
Evans, M. G., & Polanyi, M. (1935). Some applications of the transition state method to the calculation 432
of reaction velocities, especially in solution. Transactions of the Faraday Society , 31, 875. 433
https://doi.org/10.1039/tf9353100875 434
Eyring, H. (1935). The Activated Complex in Chemical Reactions. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 435
3(2), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1749604 436
Gruber, C. H., Noor, E., Buffing, M. F., & Sauer, U. (2025). Systematic identification of allosteric 437
effectors in Escherichia coli metabolism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of 438
the United States of America, 122(10). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423767122 439
Gurobi Optimization, L. (2024). Gurobi Optimizer Reference Manual. 440
Hatakeyama, T. S., & Furusawa, C. (2017). Metabolic dynamics restricted by conserved carriers: 441
Jamming and feedback. PLoS Computational Biology , 13(11). 442
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005847 443
Himeoka, Y ., & Mitarai, N. (2022). Emergence of Growth and Dormancy from a Kinetic Model of the 444
Escherichia Coli Central Carbon Metabolism., Physical Review Research 4 (4): 043223. 445
Himeoka, Y ., & Furusawa, C. (2025). Perturbation-response analysis of in silico metabolic dynamics 446
revealed hard-coded responsiveness in the cofactors and network sparsity. ELife, 13. 447
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.98800 448
Hishida, A., Okada, T., & Mochizuki, A. (2023). Patterns of change in regulatory modules of chemical 449
reaction systems induced by network modification. PNAS Nexus , 3(1). 450
https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad441 451
Jozefczuk, S., Klie, S., Catchpole, G., Szymanski, J., Cuadros-Inostroza, A., Steinhauser, D., Selbig, 452
J., & Willmitzer, L. (2010). Metabolomic and transcriptomic stress response of Escherichia coli. 453
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Molecular Systems Biology, 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2010.18 454
Khodayari, A., Zomorrodi, A. R., Liao, J. C., & Maranas, C. D. (2014). A kinetic model of Escherichia 455
coli core metabolism satisfying multiple sets of mutant flux data. Metabolic Engineering, 25, 456
50–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2014.05.014 457
Knapp, B. D., Willis, L., Gonzalez, C., Vashistha, H., Jammal-Touma, J., Tikhonov, M., Ram, J., 458
Salman, H., Elias, J. E., & Huang, K. C. (2024). Metabolic rearrangement enables adaptation of 459
microbial growth rate to temperature shifts. Nature Microbiology , 10(1), 185–201. 460
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01841-4 461
Miyakoshi, M. (2024). Multilayered regulation of amino acid metabolism in Escherichia coli. Current 462
Opinion in Microbiology, 77, 102406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2023.102406 463
Murayama, Y ., Kori, H., Oshima, C., Kondo, T., Iwasaki, H., & Ito, H. (2017). Low temperature 464
nullifies the circadian clock in cyanobacteria through Hopf bifurcation. Proceedings of the 465
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 114(22), 5641–5646. 466
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620378114 467
Noll, P., Lilge, L., Hausmann, R., & Henkel, M. (2020). Modeling and Exploiting Microbial 468
Temperature Response. Processes, 8(1), 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8010121 469
Phadtare, S. (2004). Recent Developments in Bacterial Cold-Shock Response. Current Issues in 470
Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.21775/cimb.006.125 471
Phadtare, S., & Inouye, M. (2004). Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of the cold shock response 472
in wild-type and cold-sensitive, quadruple-csp-deletion strains of Escherichia coli. Journal of 473
Bacteriology, 186(20), 7007–7014. https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.186.20.7007-7014.2004 474
Phadtare, S., & Inouye, M. (2008). The Cold Shock Response. EcoSal Plus , 3(1). 475
https://doi.org/10.1128/ecosalplus.5.4.2 476
Riccardi, C., Calvanese, M., Ghini, V ., Alonso-Vásquez, T., Perrin, E., Turano, P., Giurato, G., Weisz, 477
A., Parrilli, E., Tutino, M. L., & Fondi, M. (2023). Metabolic Robustness to Growth Temperature 478
of a Cold- Adapted Marine Bacterium. MSystems, 8(2). 479
https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01124-22 480
Rump, S. M. (1999). INTLAB — INTerval LABoratory. In Developments in Reliable Computing (pp. 481
77–104). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1247-7_7 482
Sawers, R. G. (2025). How FocA facilitates fermentation and respiration of formate by Escherichia 483
coli. In Journal of Bacteriology (V ol. 207, Issue 2). American Society for Microbiology. 484
https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00502-24 485
Schmidt, A., Kochanowski, K., Vedelaar, S., Ahrné, E., V olkmer, B., Callipo, L., Knoops, K., Bauer, 486
M., Aebersold, R., & Heinemann, M. (2016). The quantitative and condition-dependent 487
Escherichia coli proteome. Nature Biotechnology , 34(1), 104–110. 488
https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3418 489
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Stephanopoulos, G. ., Aristidou, A. A. ., & Nielsen, J. Høiriis. (1998). Metabolic engineeringࣟ :490
principles and methodologies. Academic Press. 491
Steuer, R., Gross, T., Selbig, J., & Blasius, B. (2006). Structural kinetic modeling of metabolic 492
networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 103(32), 11868–11873. 493
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0600013103 494
Strutz, J., Martin, J., Greene, J., Broadbelt, L., & Tyo, K. (2019). Metabolic kinetic modeling provides 495
insight into complex biological questions, but hurdles remain. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 496
59, 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2019.02.005 497
Sudarsan, S., Demling, P., Ozdemir, E., Ben Ammar, A., Mennicken, P., Buescher, J. M., Meurer, G., 498
Ebert, B. E., & Blank, L. M. (2025). Acetol biosynthesis enables NADPH balance during 499
nitrogen limitation in engineered Escherichia coli. Microbial Cell Factories , 24(1). 500
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02687-z 501
The MathWorks Inc. (2023). MATLAB version: R2023b. The MathWorks Inc. 502
Tran, L. M., Rizk, M. L., & Liao, J. C. (2008). Ensemble modeling of metabolic networks. Biophysical 503
Journal, 95(12), 5606–5617. https://doi.org/10.1529/biophysj.108.135442 504
Wendering, P., & Nikoloski, Z. (2023). Model-driven insights into the effects of temperature on 505
metabolism. Biotechnology Advances , 67, 108203. 506
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108203 507
Ye, Y ., Zhang, L., Hao, F., Zhang, J., Wang, Y ., & Tang, H. (2012). Global metabolomic responses of 508
escherichia coli to heat stress. Journal of Proteome Research , 11(4), 2559–2566. 509
https://doi.org/10.1021/pr3000128 510
Zhang, Y ., & Gross, C. A. (2021). Cold Shock Response in Bacteria. Annual Review of Genetics, 55(1), 511
377–400. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-071819-031654 512
Zhao, J., Chen, K., Palsson, B. O., & Yang, L. (2024). StressME: Unified computing framework of 513
Escherichia coli metabolism, gene expression, and stress responses. PLoS Computational 514
Biology, 20(2 February). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011865 515
516
517
.CC-BY 4.0 International licenseperpetuity. It is made available under a
preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in
The copyright holder for thisthis version posted September 1, 2025. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672763doi: bioRxiv preprint
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below.
Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure
cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can
have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy
(via DOI)
is the canonical version.