Forum:Interpretation Of Genomic Variants Using A Unified Biological Network Approach

Question

[AndreiR]

Just sharing a interesting paper.

Here we integrate the diverse modes of gene interactions (regulatory, genetic, phosphorylation, signaling, metabolic and physical protein-protein interactions) to create a unified biological network. We then exploit the unique properties of loss-of-function tolerant and essential genes in this unified network to build a computational model that can predict global perturbation caused by deleterious mutations in all genes.

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002886

Citation: Khurana E, Fu Y, Chen J, Gerstein M (2013) Interpretation of Genomic Variants Using a Unified Biological Network Approach. PLoS Comput Biol 9(3): e1002886. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002886 Editor: Andrey Rzhetsky, University of Chicago, United States of America Received: September 26, 2012; Accepted: November 30, 2012; Published: March 7, 2013

Answer 1

[Istvan Albert]

I have yet to read this paper - but that won't keep me from mentioning my personal opinion having seen similarly titled papers many times before.

I think that there is no unified approach that could explain any type of biological phenomena in detail. Life does not follow unified rules, does not want to be parsimonious, does not need to be logical. All it wants/needs is to survive at whatever cost.

[AndreiR]

Agree. I think more "global" approaches may not answer our questions but maybe brings us more information and directions for better understanding of this complex scenario.