Computing biological functions using BioΨ, a formal description of biological processes based on elementary bricks of actions

Abstract

Motivation: In the available databases, biological processes are described from molecular and cellular points of view, but these descriptions are represented with text annotations that make it difficult to handle them for computation. Consequently, there is an obvious need for formal descriptions of biological processes. Results: We present a formalism that uses the BioΨ concepts to model biological processes from molecular details to networks. This computational approach, based on elementary bricks of actions, allows us to calculate on biological functions (e.g. process comparison, mapping structure-function relationships, etc.). We illustrate its application with two examples: the functional comparison of proteases and the functional description of the glycolysis network. This computational approach is compatible with detailed biological knowledge and can be applied to different kinds of systems of simulation. Availability: www.sysdiag.cnrs.fr/publications/supplementary-materials/BioPsi_Manager/. Contact: sabine.peres@sysdiag.cnrs.fr; franck.molina@sysdiag.cnrs.fr. Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2010. Published by Oxford University Press.