Module Network

Synonyms

Community; Modular; Modularity; Module

Definition

A module network means that the network has a modularity structure. Relevant research has verified cell biology is modular, i.e., the organization of functional modules plays a critical role for biological functions of organisms (Hartwell et al. 1999). Generally, modules can be understood as subnets which are densely connected within themselves but sparsely connected with the rest of the network. In molecular networks a functional module is a discrete entity whose function is separable from those of other modules. For instance, the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades that occur in many intracellular signaling pathways define a common functional class of signal transduction modules.

For gene regulatory networks, a modular (Modularity) structure exists under the assumption that a group of co-expressed (Co-expression) genes is regulated by a common set of regulators. Thus, modules (Modularity) are composed of clusters of...