Robustness and modular design of the Drosophila segment polarity network
Open accessAbstract
Biomolecular networks have to perform their functions robustly. A robust function may have preferences in the topological structures of the underlying network. We carried out an exhaustive computational analysis on network topologies in relation to a patterning function in Drosophila embryogenesis. We found that whereas the vast majority of topologies can either not perform the required function or only do so very fragilely, a small fraction of topologies emerges as particularly robust for the function. The topology adopted by Drosophila, that of the segment polarity network, is a top ranking one among all topologies with no direct autoregulation. Furthermore, we found that all robust topologies are modular-each being a combination of three kinds of modules. These modules can be traced back to three subfunctions of the patterning function, and their combinations provide a combinatorial variability for the robust topologies. Our results suggest that the requirement of functional robustness drastically reduces the choices of viable topology to a limited set of modular combinations among which nature optimizes its choice under evolutionary and other biological constraints.
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The Drosophila segment polarity gene network is chemotypically robust: a surprisingly large fraction of randomly chosen parameter sets generate a pattern consistent with the observed patterning of three genes.
“Multiparameter models of this network [13, 14, 47, 48] find that a surprisingly large fraction of randomly chose parameter sets generate a pattern consistent with the observed patterning of three genes - the system exhibits chemotype robustness.”
From Sloppiness, robustness, and evolvability in systems biology (2008) · cites this paper as [47]
Biological networks are often robust to mutational perturbations; they maintain their function in the face of mutations that change one or more underlying rate parameters.
“In addition to robustness to environmental perturbation, biological networks are often robust to mutational perturbations; they maintain their function in the face of mutations that change one or perhaps more of their underlying rate parameters, and thus change their location in chemotype space.”
From Sloppiness, robustness, and evolvability in systems biology (2008) · cites this paper as [47]
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- Authors
- Ma, W., Lai, L., Ouyang, Q., & Tang, C.
- Affiliations
- Peking University (CN)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ouyang, Qi
- Tang, Chao
- Venue
- Molecular Systems Biology
- Published
- 2006-12-12
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 70-70
- ISSN
- 1744-4292 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC1762089
- OpenAlex
- W2100790213
- Cited by
- 142
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 4.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Molecular Systems Biology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene Regulatory Network Analysis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
- Keywords
- Drosophila embryogenesis, network robustness, network topology, modularity, autoregulation, evolutionary constraints, gene regulatory networks
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Computer Simulation, Drosophila melanogaster, Biological Evolution, Models, Biological, Transcription Factors, Signal Transduction, Genes, Insect, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Body Patterning, Feedback, Physiological, Drosophila Proteins, Systems Biology
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