processes Article Stoichiometric Network Analysis of Cyanobacterial Acclimation to Photosynthesis-Associated Stresses Identifies Heterotrophic Niches Ashley E. Beck 1, Hans C. Bernstein 2 and Ross P. Carlson 3,* 1 Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA;
[email protected] 2 Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA;
[email protected] 3 Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-406-994-3631 Academic Editor: Michael Henson Received: 19 April 2017; Accepted: 14 June 2017; Published: 19 June 2017 Abstract: Metabolic acclimation to photosynthesis-associated stresses was examined in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 using integrated computational and photobioreactor analyses. A genome-enabled metabolic model, complete with measured biomass composition, was analyzed using ecological resource allocation theory to predict and interpret metabolic acclimation to irradiance, O2, and nutrient stresses. Reduced growth efficiency, shifts in photosystem utilization, changes in photorespiration strategies, and differing byproduct secretion patterns were predicted to occur along culturing stress gradients. These predictions were compared with photobioreactor physiological data and previously published transcriptomic data and found to be highly consistent with observations, providing