Fig. 8. In silico strategy for predicting lipid composition of growth medium.

All the possible lipids and precursors are provided in the medium for uptake. Each possible membrane composition that is found in the literature can be incorporated in the model as part of the biomass synthesis reaction. In our case, we considered three membrane compositions whose lipid proportions change according to the cholesterol percentage. Fatty acid profile can be found in literature (as in our model) or be experimentally determined. Lipid1 is known to be directly incorporated into the membrane, Lipid2 is metabolized in the cytosol and, whether a lipase acts, degraded into component head group and fatty acids. Lipid3 is synthetized in the cytosol from lipid precursors. Each lipid is integrated into the membrane according to the compositions previously reported in the literature. According to the reported membrane composition and fatty acid profile, a consensus minimal lipid composition of the medium is predicted.