Network analyses based on comprehensive molecular interaction maps reveal robust control structures in yeast stress response pathways

Computer models assembled from curated experimental data offer insights into the mechanisms by which yeast cells respond to stressors. Every biological process is dependent on complex interactions between a host of different molecular factors, and modeling this interplay can pose a daunting challenge. A Japan-India team formed by Japan’s Systems Biology Institute and Persistent Systems Limited in India has now demonstrated how sophisticated biological networks can be reconstructed from a large-scale curation of publicly available articles and data. The researchers focused on the pathways that yeast use to adapt to stressors such as heat and nutrient deprivation, translating findings from more than 900 previously published studies into a machine-readable, visual format. Network analysis on this knowledge base revealed key factors that regulate the activity of stress-response networks and the mechanisms by which this regulation occurs.