An Abstraction Theory for Qualitative Models of Biological Systems

Richard Banks
(Newcastle University)
L. Jason Steggles
(Newcastle University)

Multi-valued network models are an important qualitative modelling approach used widely by the biological community. In this paper we consider developing an abstraction theory for multi-valued network models that allows the state space of a model to be reduced while preserving key properties of the model. This is important as it aids the analysis and comparison of multi-valued networks and in particular, helps address the well-known problem of state space explosion associated with such analysis. We also consider developing techniques for efficiently identifying abstractions and so provide a basis for the automation of this task. We illustrate the theory and techniques developed by investigating the identification of abstractions for two published MVN models of the lysis-lysogeny switch in the bacteriophage lambda.

In Gabriel Ciobanu and Maciej Koutny: Proceedings Fourth Workshop on Membrane Computing and Biologically Inspired Process Calculi 2010 (MeCBIC 2010), Jena, Germany, 23 August 2010, Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science 40, pp. 23–38.
Published: 30th October 2010.

ArXived at: https://dx.doi.org/10.4204/EPTCS.40.3 bibtex PDF

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