title: Perturbations to uncover gene networks.
abstract: After the major achievements of the DNA sequencing projects, an equally important challenge now is to uncover the functional relationships among genes (i.e. gene networks). It has become increasingly clear that computational algorithms are crucial for extracting meaningful information from the massive amount of data generated by high-throughput genome-wide technologies. Here, we summarise how systems identification algorithms, originating from physics and control theory, have been adapted for use in biology. We also explain how experimental perturbations combined with genome-wide measurements are being used to uncover gene networks. Perturbation techniques could pave the way for identifying gene networks in more complex settings such as multifactorial diseases and for improving the efficacy of drug evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Computational Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, The Institute of Technology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden. jespert@ifm.liu.se
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tegnér
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Björkegren
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D015894:Genome, Human; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D013598:Systems Theory