A Comparative Study of Metabolic Networks - An In Silico Systems Biology Tool
The "omics" era has thrown open gates for innovative approaches in systems biology for BioInformatics
Metabolome and metabolomics are gaining more and more attention in order to understand the complexity of the underlying cellular networks in organisms.
The completion of a long series of genomes has made the comparison of metabolic pathways possible.
Shortest path analysis is one of the most comprehensive approaches of understanding the cellular network.
Pathway Hunter Tool (PHT) [1,2,3,4,5,6] is a robust and user friendly Systems Biology-based BioInformatics tool to process biologically relevant information.
Presently we use KEGG[7] and BRENDA[8] databases but in the near future we intend to integrate other systems biology knowledge bases.
The PHT has more than 1000 metabolic networks of various organisms (100+ eukaryotes, 1200+ bacteria, 90+) from KEGG & BRENDA.
Database last updated: 5th April, 2011.
Find k-shortest path between a substrate and product metabolite in the model organism(s).
This module finds all the valid bio-chemical shortest paths that connect two molecules in selected organisms.
Shortest Path Analysis
Generate Load Points and Choke Points information in the metabolic pathways of different organisms.
This module generates a list of potential drug targets for the selected genomes based on the production/consumption load on metabolites or enzymes. This requires further in vitro/ in vivo verification.
Note:This option is time-consuming (3 minutes to 60 minutes depending upon the organism you choose).
Load Points & Choke Points Analysis
Generate statistical information about the metabolic pathways in different organisms.
This module presents overall connectivity information for the selected organisms.
Note:This option is time-consuming (3 minutes to 60 minutes depending upon the organism you choose).
Statistical Analysis