Title
Optimally orienting physical networks
Abstract
In a network orientation problem one is given a mixed graph, consisting of directed and undirected edges, and a set of source-target vertex pairs. The goal is to orient the undirected edges so that a maximum number of pairs admit a directed path from the source to the target. This problem is NP-complete and no approximation algorithms are known for it. It arises in the context of analyzing physical networks of protein-protein and protein-dna interactions. While the latter are naturally directed from a transcription factor to a gene, the direction of signal flow in protein-protein interactions is often unknown or cannot be measured en masse. One then tries to infer this information by using causality data on pairs of genes such that the perturbation of one gene changes the expression level of the other gene. Here we provide a first polynomial-size ilp formulation for this problem, which can be efficiently solved on current networks. We apply our algorithm to orient protein-protein interactions in yeast and measure our performance using edges with known orientations. We find that our algorithm achieves high accuracy and coverage in the orientation, outperforming simplified algorithmic variants that do not use information on edge directions. The obtained orientations can lead to better understanding of the structure and function of the network.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1007/978-3-642-20036-6_39
RESEARCH IN COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Keywords
Field
DocType
protein-protein interaction,undirected edge,gene change,network orientation problem,approximation algorithm,current network,known orientation,physical network,algorithmic variant,better understanding
Approximation algorithm,Path (graph theory),Vertex (geometry),Structure and function,Mixed graph,Bioinformatics,Perturbation (astronomy),Signal-flow graph,Feedback arc set,Mathematics
Conference
Volume
Issue
ISSN
6577
11
0302-9743
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
0
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dana Silverbush1112.42
Michael Elberfeld211510.63
Roded Sharan32792186.61