In search of the biological significance of modular structures in protein networks.

ABSTRACT: Many complex networks such as computer and social networks exhibit modular structures, where links between nodes are much denser within modules than between modules. It is widely believed that cellular networks are also modular, reflecting the relative independence and coherence of different functional units in a cell. While many authors have claimed that observations from the yeast protein-protein interaction (PPI) network support the above hypothesis, the observed structural modularity may be an artifact because the current PPI data include interactions inferred from protein complexes through approaches that create modules (e.g., assigning pairwise interactions among all proteins in a complex). Here we analyze the yeast PPI network including protein complexes (PIC network) and excluding

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1885274 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature