Three-level representation of metabolic networks

Overview & Synopsis

The complexity of genome-scale metabolic models makes them quite difficult for human users to read, since they contain thousands of reactions that must be included for accurate computer simulation. The web-based navigation system Mimoza allows a human expert to explore metabolic network models in a semantically zoomable manner: The most general view represents the compartments of the model; the next view shows the generalized versions of reactions and metabolites in each compartment; and the most detailed view represents the initial network with the generalization-based layout (where similar metabolites and reactions are placed next to each other). It allows a human expert to grasp the general structure of the network and analyze it in a top-down manner.