Open Access

Heike Siebert

• A biological regulatory network can be modeled as a discrete function f that contains all available information on network component interactions. From f we can derive a graph representation of the network structure as well as of the dynamics of the system. In this paper we introduce a method to identify modules of the network that allow us to construct the behavior of f from the dynamics of the modules. Here, it proves useful to distinguish between dynamical and structural modules, and to define network modules combining aspects of both. As a key concept we establish the notion of symbolic steady state, which basically represents a set of states where the behavior of f is in some sense predictable, and which gives rise to suitable network modules. We apply the method to a regulatory network involved in T helper cell differentiation.