PREFACE xiii
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xv
PART I: CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY
1 Metabolomics in Functional Genomics and Systems Biology 3
1.1 From genomic sequencing to functional genomics, 3
1.2 Systems biology and metabolic models, 6
1.3 Metabolomics, 8
1.4 Future perspectives, 11
2 The Chemical Challenge of the Metabolome 15
2.1 Metabolites and metabolism, 15
2.2 The structural diversity of metabolites, 18
2.2.1 The chemical and physical properties, 18
2.2.2 Metabolite abundance, 23
2.2.3 Primary and secondary metabolism, 24
2.3 The number of metabolites in a biological system, 25
2.4 Controlling rates and levels, 26
2.4.1 Control by substrate level, 27
2.4.2 Feedback and feedforward control, 27