Inferring gene functions through dissection of relevance networks: Interleaving the intra- and inter-species views

Abstract

Inference of accurate gene annotations requires integration of existing biological knowledge, structured in a form of ontology, with data from transcriptomics high-throughput technologies. This undertaking requires developing algorithms that integrate genome-scale data, even for model organisms. Gene relevance networks have emerged as a powerful representative of the structure of the data. Such networks can be used for intra-species transfer of gene annotations following the guilt-by-association principle. An analogous principle can serve as a basis for inter-species transfer of gene annotations by comparing well-defined subnetworks. In this review, we compare and contrast the concepts of re..