Boolean Networks as Predictive Models of Emergent Biological Behaviors (Elements in the Structure and Dynamics of Complex Networks)

This Element shows interacting biological systems at all organizational levels display emergent behavior. Modeling these systems is made challenging by the number and variety of biological components and interactions and the often-incomplete state of system knowledge. Boolean networks have emerged as a powerful tool for modeling these systems. The authors provide a methodological overview of Boolean network models of biological systems. After a brief introduction, they describe the process of building, analyzing, and validating a Boolean model. The authors then present the use of the model to make predictions about the system's response to perturbations and about how to control its behavior. The Element emphasizes the interplay between structural and dynamical properties of Boolean networks and illustrates them in three case studies from disparate levels of biological organization.