SubNet: A Java application for subnetwork extraction

Abstract

Summary: The extraction of targeted subnetworks is a powerful way to identify functional modules and pathways within complex networks. Here, we present SubNet, a Java-based stand-alone program for extracting subnetworks, given a basal network and a set of selected nodes. Designed with a graphical user-friendly interface, SubNet combines four different extraction methods, which offer the possibility to interrogate a biological network according to the question investigated. Of note, we developed a method based on the highly successful Google PageRank algorithm to extract the subnetwork using the node centrality metric, to which possible node weights of the selected genes can be incorporated. © The Author 2013.