Building Gene Networks by Analyzing Gene Expression Profiles

Abstract

The possible applications of modeling and simulation in the field of bioinformatics are very extensive, ranging from understanding basic metabolic paths to exploring genetic variability. Experimental results carried out with DNA microarrays allow researchers to measure expression levels for thousands of genes simultaneously, across different conditions and over time. A key step in the analysis of gene expression data is the detection of groups of genes that manifest similar expression patterns. In this chapter, the authors examine various methods for analyzing gene expression data, addressing the important topics of (1) selecting the most differentially expressed genes, (2) grouping them by means of their relationships, and (3) classifying samples based on gene expressions.