Similar Pathogen Targets in Arabidopsis thaliana and Homo sapiens Protein Networks

Abstract

We study the behavior of pathogens on host protein networks for humans and Arabidopsis - noting striking similarities. Specifically, we preform k-shell decomposition analysis on these networks - which groups the proteins into various "shells" based on network structure. We observe that shells with a higher average degree are more highly targeted (with a power-law relationship) and that highly targeted nodes lie in shells closer to the inner-core of the network. Additionally, we also note that the inner core of the network is significantly under-targeted. We show that these core proteins may have a role in intra-cellular communication and hypothesize that they are less attacked to ensure survival of the host. This may explain why certain high-degree proteins are not significantly attacked.