Towards better understanding of industrial cell factories: novel approaches for 13 C metabolic flux analysis in complex nutrient environments.

The quantification of intracellular fluxes via 13 C metabolic flux analysis has become one of the major techniques to support systems-based metabolic engineering of industrial production hosts. Commonly, 13 C studies are conducted using minimal media, however, a great variety of industrial processes rely on complex medium compounds. The use of parallel 13 C tracer experiments as well as analytical multi-readout of labeling data together with model-based simulation offer a great starting point to tackle such complex systems. Prominent examples will highlight the recent progress made.