Robustness of flux distribution in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 under environmental stress and genetic perturbation

The environmental important bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, has the significantly different growth rates under normal growth (doubling time=3hrs) in the minimal lactate medium, salt stress (doubling time > 6 hrs), and enhanced growth with amino acids supplementation (doubling time <1.5hrs). 13C based metabolic flux analysis of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 indicates that the relative central metabolism maintains stable under all growth conditions. Furthermore, screen of MR-1 transposon mutants using high throughput 13C isotopomer analysis method also indicates the robustness of central metabolism under genetic perturbations. These observations reveal a rigid physiology in the level of flux distribution in MR-1, in contrast to the significant change of transcriptomes and metabolite profiles under various growth conditions. This study provides evidence that microbial metabolism maintains metabolic stability under various environmental conditions, rather than being geared towards growth rate maximization.