New Approaches for Visualizing and Analyzing Metabolic Pathways

Abstract

Visualizing of metabolic pathways (or networks) has been done by many differentapproaches. In this work, we implemented and tested existing graph layout algorithms, and present a new approach to lay-out medium size metabolic pathways (500-20,000 vertices) by implementing and combining three well known graph lay-out algorithms (high dimension embedding, spring-embedder preprocessing, spring-embedder), through 3D space density analysis facilitated by the Octree technique. For the analysis of the results of metabolic pathways simulations we present two new techniques: rstly, a powerful technique to visualize pathways simulation data was created to unveil and understand concentration ows through metabolic pathways. This was achieved by mapping the color encoded concentration value of every substance from each time step of the simulation to its graphical representation in the layout. By combining all resulting images (from each time step) and displaying them as a movie, many characteristics such as subnetworks, alternative routes through the network, and differences between a modied pathway and its unmodied version can be revealed. Secondly, a new method to detect co-regulated substances in metabolic pathways and to recognize differences between two versions of a pathway, was established. To do this, we transformed the simulation data into a row-based representation, color-coded these rows, and reordered them with respect to similarity by using a Genetic Algorithm variant. From the arising discrete 2-dimensional matrix consisting of concentration values, a continuous 2-dimensional fourier row function was computed. This function can be used to measure properties, such as similarities in a pathway between time steps, or substances, or to detect and evaluate differences between modied versions of the same pathway.