Repository: Freie Universität Berlin, Math Department

Reusable building blocks in biological systems.

Mireles, Victor and Conrad, T. O. F. (2018) Reusable building blocks in biological systems. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 15 (149). ISSN 1742-5662

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0595

Abstract

One of the most widely recognized features of biological systems is their modularity. The modules that constitute biological systems are said to be redeployed and combined across several conditions, thus acting as building blocks. In this work, we analyse to what extent are these building blocks reusable as compared with those found in randomized versions of a system. We develop a notion of decompositions of systems into phenotypic building blocks, which allows them to overlap while maximizing the number of times a building block is reused across several conditions. Different biological systems present building blocks whose reusability ranges from single use (e.g. condition specific) to constitutive, although their average reusability is not always higher than random equivalents of the system. These decompositions reveal a distinct distribution of building block sizes in real biological systems. This distribution stems, in part, from the peculiar usage pattern of the elements of biological systems, and constitutes a new angle to study the evolution of modularity.

Item Type:Article
Subjects:Biological Sciences
Mathematical and Computer Sciences > Mathematics > Applied Mathematics
Divisions:Department of Mathematics and Computer Science > Institute of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science > Institute of Mathematics > BioComputing Group
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science > Institute of Mathematics > Comp. Proteomics Group
ID Code:1945
Deposited By: Admin Administrator
Deposited On:02 Sep 2016 15:08
Last Modified:19 Dec 2018 08:57

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