Control of frequency and amplitudes is shared by all enzymes in three models for yeast glycolytic oscillations

Abstract

The three main existing models for glycolytic oscillations in yeast were re-examined to investigate how these oscillations are controlled. We implemented the operational definitions provided by metabolic control analysis to quantify the control properties of enzymes with regard to glycolytic oscillations. In all three models, the control of the frequency and that of the amplitudes of the metabolites were distributed among the enzymes. There was no obvious correlation between the control of the average flax and the control of the frequency. Most importantly, the so-called ‘oscillophore’ of the system, traditionally the enzyme primarily held responsible for the generation of the oscillation, was not the only controlling step. We conclude that just like steady-state flux control is not necessarily limited to a rate-limiting step, oscillations are not dictated by a single ‘oscillophore’.