The function of communities in protein interaction networks at multiple scales.
BACKGROUND
If biology is modular then clusters, or communities, of proteins derived using only protein interaction network structure should define protein modules with similar biological roles. We investigate the link between biological modules and network communities in yeast and its relationship to the scale at which we probe the network.


RESULTS
Our results demonstrate that the functional homogeneity of communities depends on the scale selected, and that almost all proteins lie in a functionally homogeneous community at some scale. We judge functional homogeneity using a novel test and three independent characterizations of protein function, and find a high degree of overlap between these measures. We show that a high mean clustering coefficient of a community can be used to identify those that are functionally homogeneous. By tracing the community membership of a protein through multiple scales we demonstrate how our approach could be useful to biologists focusing on a particular protein.


CONCLUSIONS
We show that there is no one scale of interest in the community structure of the yeast protein interaction network, but we can identify the range of resolution parameters that yield the most functionally coherent communities, and predict which communities are most likely to be functionally homogeneous.
Lewis
Anna C F
AC
Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Jones
Nick S
NS
Porter
Mason A
MA
Deane
Charlotte M
CM
D000465:Algorithms; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*; D015003:Yeasts
D005656:Fungal Proteins