Network tools forthe analysis and prediction of protein-protein interactions

Abstract

In this thesis, we present two computational platforms for future biological research. The first, FNAC, is a flexible programmatic Framework for Network Analysis and Comparison that simplifies many common operations on biological networks. As a demonstration of FNAC, we investigate the properties of several prominent protein function and protein-protein interaction networks. In doing so, we uncover evidence suggesting that a recently-developed technique for annotating proteins may also have substantial value in the computational prediction of protein-protein interactions. Our second computational platform, the Coiled-Coil Database (CCDB), serves as a central and easily queryable repository for information about the coiled coil protein structural motif in a variety of organisms.