System-level analysis of metabolic trade-offs during anaerobic photoheterotrophic growth in Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

Photoheterotrophic metabolism of R. palustris is primarily regulated by the amount of light it can absorb and not the availability of carbon. However, despite carbon's secondary role as a regulating factor, R. palustris' metabolism strives for maximum carbon efficiency, even when this increased efficiency leads to slightly lower growth rates.