Modularity, criticality, and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network.

ABSTRACT: The existence of discrete phenotypic traits suggests that the complex regulatory processes which produce them are functionally modular. These processes are usually represented by networks. Only modular networks can be partitioned into intelligible subcircuits able to evolve relatively independently. Traditionally, functional modularity is approximated by detection of modularity in network structure. However, the correlation between structure and function is loose. Many regulatory networks exhibit modular behaviour without structural modularity. Here we partition an experimentally tractable regulatory network-the gap gene system of dipteran insects-using an alternative approach. We show that this system, although not structurally modular, is composed of dynamical modules driving different a

SUBMITTER: Verd B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6645726 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature