Measuring and modeling energy and power consumption in living microbial cells with a synthetic ATP reporter

Abstract

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the main energy carrier in living organisms, critical for metabolism and essential physiological processes. In humans, abnormal regulation of energy levels (ATP concentration) and power consumption (ATP consumption flux) in cells is associated with numerous diseases from cancer, to viral infection and immune dysfunction, while in microbes it influences their responses to drugs and other stresses. The measurement and modeling of ATP dynamics in cells is therefore a critical component in understanding fundamental physiology and its role in pathology. Despite the importance of ATP, our current understanding of energy dynamics and homeostasis in living cells has been limited by the lack of easy-to-use ATP sensors and the lack of models that enable accurate estimates of energy and power consumption related to these ATP dynamics. Here we describe a dynamic model and an ATP reporter that tracks ATP in E. coli over different growth phases.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 17, 2021
Source ID
10.1186/s12915-021-01023-2

Entities

People

  • Douglas Raymond Beahm
  • Rahul Sarpeshkar
  • Steven Ionov
  • Yijie Deng

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • National Institutes of Health

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Parasitology and Pharmacology of Malaria.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology