Somewhat in control - the role of transcription in regulating microbial metabolic fluxes

- Role of transcription in regulating metabolic fluxes is currently highly debated.
- Flux distributions are resilient against perturbations of transcriptional networks.
- Findings suggest that many enzymes in central metabolism are overabundant.
- Overabundance may protect from fluctuations and allow more rapid responses.
- New 'omics' studies further highlight the suboptimal regulation of gene expression.