{
  "abstract": "The thermoacidophilic red microalga Galdieria sulphuraria combines broad organic-carbon utilization with biotechnological robustness. We integrated cultivation data for strain SAG 107.79 with an organelle-resolved genome-scale metabolic model describing autotrophic, mixotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism. Heterotrophic cultures produced 2.29, 2.03 and 2.14 g L-1 biomass on glucose, xylose and their mixture, respectively, while mixed-sugar cultures consumed glucose before xylose. Biomass composition was similar under mixotrophy and heterotrophy, and stationary-phase glucose consumption supported a non-growth-associated maintenance demand of 1.7 mmol ATP gDW-1 h-1. These measurements informed trophic-state-specific biomass objective functions. The final model contains 2,487 reactions, 2,270 compartment-specific metabolites and 1,050 genes. The model reproduced the experimentally scored growth phenotypes, highlighted polyol-associated product capacity under heterotrophy and scored 90% in the archived MEMOTE report. To our knowledge, this is the first experimentally based, organelle-resolved genome-scale metabolic model for G. sulphuraria, providing a quantitative framework linking trophic state and substrate identity with carbon use, flux flexibility and product capacity. A user-friendly supplementary package provides the executable SBML model, modular biomass resources, reproducible scripts, quality reports and underlying experimental data.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Latvia"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "A. Pentjuss"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Kolesovs"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Grube"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Scerbaka"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Svirksts"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Stalidzans"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Vigants"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Smetana"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Pleissner"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s5cnd1n4yw8z.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.15.759342",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759342v1.full",
  "id": "8s5cnd1n4yw8z",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759342v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "systems biology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222682035",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759342v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s5cnd1n4yw8z.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:06Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.15.759342",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759342v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:systems biology",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Experimental trophic flexibility guides a compartmentalized genome-scale model of red microalgae Galdieria sulphuraria",
  "title_text": "Experimental trophic flexibility guides a compartmentalized genome-scale model of red microalgae Galdieria sulphuraria",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s5cnd1n4yw8z",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}