Kinetic modeling of metabolic networks

In the last decade, genome-scale stoichiometric models have played an increasing role in understanding metabolism under steady state. In order to study metabolic response to perturbation at timescales before a steady state is reached, however, a more explicit kinetic model must be developed. While kinetic models of metabolism have been around for longer than their stoichiometric counterparts, progress towards practical and useful kinetics models of metabolism has been slower, due to the difficulty of specifying necessary parameters. However, the increased ability to measure metabolomics and proteomics profiles in high throughput may soon make accurate kinetic models of metabolism a reality. In this chapter, we review theoretical concepts useful for developing kinetic models of metabolism, practical difficulties with constructing such models, and methods that have been developed in an effort to circumvent these difficulties.