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FoldEco: A Model for Proteostasis in E. coli
Cell Reports (2012)
  • Evan T. Powers
  • David L. Powers
  • Lila Gierasch, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Abstract
To gain insight into the interplay of processes and species that maintain a correctly folded, functional proteome, we have developed a computational model called FoldEco. FoldEco models the cellular proteostasis network of the E. coli cytoplasm, including protein synthesis, degradation, aggregation, chaperone systems, and the folding characteristics of protein clients. We focused on E. coli because much of the needed input information—including mechanisms, rate parameters, and equilibrium coefficients—is available, largely from in vitro experiments; however, FoldEco will shed light on proteostasis in other organisms. FoldEco can generate hypotheses to guide the design of new experiments. Hypothesis generation leads to system-wide questions and shows how to convert these questions to experimentally measurable quantities, such as changes in protein concentrations with chaperone or protease levels, which can then be used to improve our current understanding of proteostasis and refine the model. A web version of FoldEco is available at http://foldeco.scripps.edu.
Publication Date
March 15, 2012
Publisher Statement

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2012.02.011


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Citation Information
Evan T. Powers, David L. Powers and Lila Gierasch. "FoldEco: A Model for Proteostasis in E. coli" Cell Reports Vol. 1 Iss. 3 (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lila_gierasch/7/