title: FluxMap: a VANTED add-on for the visual exploration of flux distributions in biological networks.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The quantification of metabolic fluxes is gaining increasing importance in the analysis of the metabolic behavior of biological systems such as organisms, tissues or cells. Various methodologies (wetlab or drylab) result in sets of fluxes which require an appropriate visualization for interpretation by scientists. The visualization of flux distributions is a necessary prerequisite for intuitive flux data exploration in the context of metabolic networks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We present FluxMap, a tool for the advanced visualization and exploration of flux data in the context of metabolic networks. The template-based flux data import assigns flux values and optional quality parameters (e. g. the confidence interval) to biochemical reactions. It supports the discrimination between mass and substance fluxes, such as C- or N-fluxes. After import, flux data mapping and network-based visualization allow the interactive exploration of the dataset. Various visualization options enable the user to adapt layout and network representation according to individual purposes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Vanted add-on FluxMap comprises a comprehensive set of functionalities for visualization and advanced visual exploration of flux distributions in biological networks. It is available as a Java open source tool from http://www.vanted.org/fluxmap.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, IPK, Molecular Genetics, Corrensstr 3, Gatersleben 06466, Germany. rohn@ipk-gatersleben.de
authors.forename: Hendrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rohn
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Junker
authors.forename: Björn H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Junker
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schreiber
mesh_terms: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D001467:Hordeum / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism*; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D010100:Oxygen