Print Email Facebook Twitter Topology of molecular interaction networks Title Topology of molecular interaction networks Author Winterbach, W. Van Mieghem, P. Reinders, M. Wang, H. De Ridder, D. Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science Department Network Architectures and Services Group (NAS) Date 2013-09-16 Abstract Molecular interactions are often represented as network models which have become the common language of many areas of biology. Graphs serve as convenient mathematical representations of network models and have themselves become objects of study. Their topology has been intensively researched over the last decade after evidence was found that they share underlying design principles with many other types of networks. Initial studies suggested that molecular interaction network topology is related to biological function and evolution. However, further whole-network analyses did not lead to a unified view on what this relation may look like, with conclusions highly dependent on the type of molecular interactions considered and the metrics used to study them. It is unclear whether global network topology drives function, as suggested by some researchers, or whether it is simply a byproduct of evolution or even an artefact of representing complex molecular interaction networks as graphs. Nevertheless, network biology has progressed significantly over the last years. We review the literature, focusing on two major developments. First, realizing that molecular interaction networks can be naturally decomposed into subsystems (such as modules and pathways), topology is increasingly studied locally rather than globally. Second, there is a move from a descriptive approach to a predictive one: rather than correlating biological network 1 topology to generic properties such as robustness, it is used to predict specific functions or phenotypes. Taken together, this change in focus from globally descriptive to locally predictive points to new avenues of research. In particular, multi-scale approaches are developments promising to drive the study of molecular interaction networks further. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:5dd2ae41-b46b-4312-a3bb-8772ae117897 DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-0509-7-90 Publisher BioMed Central ISSN 1752-0509 Source BMC Systems Biology, 7 (90), 2013 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights (c) 2013 Winterbach, W.Van Mieghem, P.Reinders, M.Wang, H.De Ridder, D. Files PDF Topology_of_molecular_int ... tworks.pdf 1.4 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:5dd2ae41-b46b-4312-a3bb-8772ae117897/datastream/OBJ/view