Nonlinear dynamics of glycolysis

Abstract

Glycolysis is the most important cellular process yielding ATP, the universal energy carrier molecule in all living organisms. The characteristic oscillations of the intermediates of glycolysis have been the subject of extensive experimental and theoretical research over the last four decades. A conspicuous property of the glycolytic oscillations is their critical control by the substrate injection rate. In this brief review, we trace its experimental background and explore the essential underlying theoretical models to elucidate a number of nonlinear dynamical phenomena observed in the weak noise limit of the substrate injection rate. Simultaneous oscillations of glycolytic intermediates and insulin have also been discussed within the framework of a phenomenological model in the context of basic experimental issues.