Validating a threshold-based boolean model of regulatory networks on a biological organism

Abstract

Boolean models of regulatory networks are very attractive due to their simplicity and flexibility to integrate new development. We use the signaling network of a plant, along with the Boolean update functions attached to each element, to validate a previously proposed threshold-based additive update function. To do that, we determine the dynamical regime of the original system, then setup the parameters of the Boolean function to match this regime. Results show that there is a higher degree of overlap between the original function and the additive function than with random update function in the specific case at hand. This confirm a previous conjecture that the contribution of different transcription factors to the regulation of a target gene treated additively can explain a significant part of the variation in gene expression. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.