Using time-dependent petri nets for the analysis of metabolic networks

Petri net theory is a powerful tool for describing and analyzing information and control data flows. Hitherto this theory has been applied basically to technical networks. The application of Petri nets to metabolic pathways offers a Iot of new possibilities for simulating and even analyzing them. We discuss the modeling of the extended combined glycolytic pathway and pentose phosphate pathway. Using time-rlependent Petri nets we model one possible mode of the pathway and analyze the net in detail. We discuss the simulation of flwces by moving tokens as weil as the resulting structural and behavioral net properties. Results show that the time behavior of reversible reactions can be simulated using time-dependent Petri nets