A novel grid-based visualization approach for metabolic networks with advanced focus&context view

Abstract

The universe of biochemical reactions in metabolic pathways can be modeled as a complex network structure augmented with domain specific annotations. Based on the functional properties of the involved reactions, metabolic networks are often clustered into so-called pathways inferred from expert knowledge. To support the domain expert in the exploration and analysis process, we follow the well-known Table Lens metaphor with the possibility to select multiple foci. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to generate an interactive layout of such a metabolic network taking its hierarchical structure into account and present methods for navigation and exploration that preserve the mental map. The layout places the network nodes on a fixed rectilinear grid and routes the edges orthogonally between the node positions. Our approach supports bundled edge routes heuristically minimizing a given cost function based on the number of bends, the number of edge crossings and the density of edges within a bundle. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.