Target genes of transcriptional factors from co-expression networks

Question

[pixie@bioinfo]

This might be a bit lame question. I have built a co-expression network from gene expression data. I observed that the network contains many transcription factors. If I consider a transcription factor, will any of its first-degree neighbour (which has a high correlation value with the transcription factor) give me any idea what are the target genes of that factor ? I have seen a few papers highlighting the first neighbours of TFs but I am not sure why they do this. Any view on this will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

[Devon Ryan]

Yeah, the most strongly correlated genes, which would presumably become first-degree neighbors if you did things correctly, are likely targets. This isn't definitive of course, but it'd be a smart starting place.

[pixie@bioinfo]

Thanks Devon !