5,026 research outputs found
Rigidity and flexibility of biological networks
The network approach became a widely used tool to understand the behaviour of
complex systems in the last decade. We start from a short description of
structural rigidity theory. A detailed account on the combinatorial rigidity
analysis of protein structures, as well as local flexibility measures of
proteins and their applications in explaining allostery and thermostability is
given. We also briefly discuss the network aspects of cytoskeletal tensegrity.
Finally, we show the importance of the balance between functional flexibility
and rigidity in protein-protein interaction, metabolic, gene regulatory and
neuronal networks. Our summary raises the possibility that the concepts of
flexibility and rigidity can be generalized to all networks.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Generating constrained random graphs using multiple edge switches
The generation of random graphs using edge swaps provides a reliable method
to draw uniformly random samples of sets of graphs respecting some simple
constraints, e.g. degree distributions. However, in general, it is not
necessarily possible to access all graphs obeying some given con- straints
through a classical switching procedure calling on pairs of edges. We therefore
propose to get round this issue by generalizing this classical approach through
the use of higher-order edge switches. This method, which we denote by "k-edge
switching", makes it possible to progres- sively improve the covered portion of
a set of constrained graphs, thereby providing an increasing, asymptotically
certain confidence on the statistical representativeness of the obtained
sample.Comment: 15 page
Metabolic network visualization eliminating node redundance and preserving metabolic pathways
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tools that are available to draw and to manipulate the representations of metabolism are usually restricted to metabolic pathways. This limitation becomes problematic when studying processes that span several pathways. The various attempts that have been made to draw genome-scale metabolic networks are confronted with two shortcomings: 1- they do not use contextual information which leads to dense, hard to interpret drawings, 2- they impose to fit to very constrained standards, which implies, in particular, duplicating nodes making topological analysis considerably more difficult.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a method, called MetaViz, which enables to draw a genome-scale metabolic network and that also takes into account its structuration into pathways. This method consists in two steps: a clustering step which addresses the pathway overlapping problem and a drawing step which consists in drawing the clustered graph and each cluster.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The method we propose is original and addresses new drawing issues arising from the no-duplication constraint. We do not propose a single drawing but rather several alternative ways of presenting metabolism depending on the pathway on which one wishes to focus. We believe that this provides a valuable tool to explore the pathway structure of metabolism.</p
Application of Approximate Pattern Matching in Two Dimensional Spaces to Grid Layout for Biochemical Network Maps
Background
For visualizing large-scale biochemical network maps, it is important to calculate the coordinates of molecular nodes quickly and to enhance the understanding or traceability of them. The grid layout is effective in drawing compact, orderly, balanced network maps with node label spaces, but existing grid layout algorithms often require a high computational cost because they have to consider complicated positional constraints through the entire optimization process.
Results
We propose a hybrid grid layout algorithm that consists of a non-grid, fast layout (preprocessor) algorithm and an approximate pattern matching algorithm that distributes the resultant preprocessed nodes on square grid points. To demonstrate the feasibility of the hybrid layout algorithm, it is characterized in terms of the calculation time, numbers of edge-edge and node-edge crossings, relative edge lengths, and F-measures. The proposed algorithm achieves outstanding performances compared with other existing grid layouts.
Conclusions
Use of an approximate pattern matching algorithm quickly redistributes the laid-out nodes by fast, non-grid algorithms on the square grid points, while preserving the topological relationships among the nodes. The proposed algorithm is a novel use of the pattern matching, thereby providing a breakthrough for grid layout. This application program can be freely downloaded from http://www.cadlive.jp/hybridlayout/hybridlayout.html
The compositional and evolutionary logic of metabolism
Metabolism displays striking and robust regularities in the forms of
modularity and hierarchy, whose composition may be compactly described. This
renders metabolic architecture comprehensible as a system, and suggests the
order in which layers of that system emerged. Metabolism also serves as the
foundation in other hierarchies, at least up to cellular integration including
bioenergetics and molecular replication, and trophic ecology. The
recapitulation of patterns first seen in metabolism, in these higher levels,
suggests metabolism as a source of causation or constraint on many forms of
organization in the biosphere.
We identify as modules widely reused subsets of chemicals, reactions, or
functions, each with a conserved internal structure. At the small molecule
substrate level, module boundaries are generally associated with the most
complex reaction mechanisms and the most conserved enzymes. Cofactors form a
structurally and functionally distinctive control layer over the small-molecule
substrate. Complex cofactors are often used at module boundaries of the
substrate level, while simpler ones participate in widely used reactions.
Cofactor functions thus act as "keys" that incorporate classes of organic
reactions within biochemistry.
The same modules that organize the compositional diversity of metabolism are
argued to have governed long-term evolution. Early evolution of core
metabolism, especially carbon-fixation, appears to have required few
innovations among a small number of conserved modules, to produce adaptations
to simple biogeochemical changes of environment. We demonstrate these features
of metabolism at several levels of hierarchy, beginning with the small-molecule
substrate and network architecture, continuing with cofactors and key conserved
reactions, and culminating in the aggregation of multiple diverse physical and
biochemical processes in cells.Comment: 56 pages, 28 figure
Visualization of Metabolic Networks
The metabolism constitutes the universe of biochemical reactions taking place in
a cell of an organism. These processes include the synthesis, transformation, and
degradation of molecules for an organism to grow, to reproduce and to interact
with its environment. A good way to capture the complexity of these processes
is the representation as metabolic network, in which sets of molecules are transformed
into products by a chemical reaction, and the products are being processed
further. The underlying graph model allows a structural analysis of this network
using established graphtheoretical algorithms on the one hand, and a visual representation
by applying layout algorithms combined with information visualization
techniques on the other.
In this thesis we will take a look at three different aspects of graph visualization
within the context of biochemical systems: the representation and interactive
exploration of static networks, the visual analysis of dynamic networks, and the
comparison of two network graphs. We will demonstrate, how established infovis
techniques can be combined with new algorithms and applied to specific problems
in the area of metabolic network visualization.
We reconstruct the metabolic network covering the complete set of chemical reactions
present in a generalized eucaryotic cell from real world data available from
a popular metabolic pathway data base and present a suitable data structure. As
the constructed network is very large, it is not feasible for the display as a whole.
Instead, we introduce a technique to analyse this static network in a top-down
approach starting with an overview and displaying detailed reaction networks on
demand. This exploration method is also applied to compare metabolic networks
in different species and from different resources. As for the analysis of dynamic
networks, we present a framework to capture changes in the connectivity as well
as changes in the attributes associated with the network’s elements
Investigations on the application of complex cell models in the simulation of bioprocesses
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