A comparison of variant theories of intact biochemical systems. II: Flux- oriented and metabolic control theories (Q911514)

This paper carries out the analyses begun in part I of this paper, see the preceding review, Zbl 0696.92012, by using an explicit variant of biochemical systems theory (BST) that involves the generalized mass action (GMA) representation, which includes the flux-oriented theory (FOT), and an implicit variant of BST that involves the GMA which includes the metabolic control theory (MCT). The main results of this second part can be stated as follows: (1) MCT variant is a special case of the implicit GMA representation of BST; (2) FOT variant, when suitably generalized, is logically equivalent to the explicit GMA variant within BST; (3) The explicit S-system variant is a more comprehensive and inclusive theory than other variants, including the implicit S-system variant. The results are valuable in their own right, while the theoretical and methodological consequences are of considerable importance.