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Titel:
Relevant Cycles in Chemical Reaction Network
Author(s):
Petra M. Gleiss,
Peter F. Stadler,
Andreas Wagner,
David A. Fell
Adv.Cmplx.Syst. in press (2001)
Abstract:
We characterize the distributions of short cycles in a large metabolic
network previously shown to have small world characteristics and a power
law degree distribution. Compared with three classes of random networks,
including Erdös-Rényi random graphs and synthetic small world
networks of the same connectivity, both the metabolic network and
models for the chemical reaction networks of planetary atmospheres have a
particularly large number of triangles and a deficit in large cycles. Short
cycles reduce the length of detours when a connection is clipped, so we
propose that long cycles in metabolism may have been selected against in
order to shorten transition times and reduce the likelihood of oscillations
in response to external perturbations.
Keywords:
cycle basis, small world network, metabolic network, planetary atmosphere
Return to 2001 working papers list.