Metabolic modeling to better understand plant pathogens' biology and their interactions with the host

Plant pathogens strongly impact agricultural productivity, making it essential to better understand the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity. Metabolic modeling, a key approach in systems biology, links genome content to cellular physiology and environmental conditions by integrating molecular data into network reconstructions and enabling quantitative predictions of growth and metabolic behavior. While widely used in bioprocess optimization, metabolic modeling remains underexploited in plant–pathogen interactions. Yet, it offers a powerful framework to investigate the trophic exchanges occurring during infection and to uncover pathogen virulence strategies. In this seminar, I will introduce the basic principles of metabolic modeling and present two case studies. First, the reconstruction of the metabolic network of Xylella fastidiosa provides insights into its fastidious growth. Second, a metabolic model of the tomato plant interacting with Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum accurately reproduces experimental data and highlights key metabolic mechanisms underlying bacterial wilt.