MircoRNA Regulating Networks Analyzing Structural Changes in Time Series Data

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Hart, Chris

Keywords

Betweeness Centrality, Graphs, MircoRNA, Regulatory Networks, Bioinformatics

Area of Concentration

Natural Sciences

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22 nucleotide, non-coding, single-stranded RNA molecules. MicroRNAs are post-transcriptional regulators of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that control translation through either translational repression or directing mRNA degradation. The expression patterns of microRNAs are of interest to biologists as these regulatory molecules have been found to be significant in a wide range of biological processes, including development, cell differentiation, and disease processes. One computational approach to examining this regulatory network is through the use of a directed graph model of microRNA to mRNA targeting. In this approach, a graph is constructed such that it is both directed and bipartite, limiting the application of many algorithms developed to analyze complex real world networks. We propose a new representation of microRNA regulatory networks, which allows for the expression of cooperative microRNA regulation of mRNAs by mapping mRNA nodes to edges. This creates an undirected graph with cycles and allows for easier detection of �hubs,� which has been shown to be useful in understanding functional aspects of various other biomolecular interaction networks. In this thesis we explore this new representation of the miRNA regulatory network by applying betweenness centrality to determine the relative significance of each miRNA in each network from a time course experiment. We compare the changes in betweenness centrality with the miRNAexpression data gathered from a H1N1 infection time course.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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