PINALOG: A novel approach to align protein interaction networks-implications for complex detection and function prediction

Abstract

Motivation: Analysis of protein-protein interaction networks (PPINs) at the system level has become increasingly important in understanding biological processes. Comparison of the interactomes of different species not only provides a better understanding of species evolution but also helps with detecting conserved functional components and in function prediction. Method and Results: Here we report a PPIN alignment method, called PINALOG, which combines information from protein sequence, function and network topology. Alignment of human and yeast PPINs reveals several conserved subnetworks between them that participate in similar biological processes, notably the proteasome and transcription related processes. PINALOG has been tested for its power in protein complex prediction as well as function prediction. Comparison with PSI-BLAST in predicting protein function in the twilight zone also shows that PINALOG is valuable in predicting protein function. © The Author(s) 2012. Published by Oxford University Press.