Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.6: Poster

Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B

Using Spins to Find Functional Modules of Bio-Molecular Networks — •Sabine Tornow — Theoretische Physik III, Universitaet Augsburg, D-86135 Augsburg

Genes and proteins are organized on the basis of their particular mutual relation, or according to their interaction, in cellular and genetic networks. These include metabolic or signaling pathways, protein interaction, regulatory or coexpression networks. Integrating the information from the different types of networks may lead to the notion of a functional network and functional modules. To find these modules, we propose a new technique which is based on collective, multi–body correlations in a genetic network (a). We calculate the correlation strength of a group of genes (e.g., in the coexpression network) which were identified as members of a module in a different network (e.g., in the protein interaction network) and estimate the probability that this correlation strength was found by chance. Groups of genes with a significant correlation strength in different networks have a high probability that they perform the same function. Here, we propose to evaluate the multi–body correlations applying the Superparamagnetic approach (b). We compare our method to the presently applied mean Pearson correlations and show that our method is more sensitive in revealing functional relationships.

(a)Tornow,S. ,Mewes, H.: Functional modules by relating protein interaction networks and gene expression, Nucleic Acids Research 31, 6283 (2003)

(b) Blatt, M, Wiseman, M., and Domany, E.: Superparamagnetic clustering of data. (1996) Phys. Rev. Lett., 76, 3251-5.