SIMULATION AND VISUALIZATION OF GENETIC REGULATORY NETWORKS

Abstract

Gene regulation networks are a significant biological research area. Simulations and visualizations of genetic processes are being created as biologists grapple with the vast amounts of new genetic information. We present a genetic network simulation environment that visualizes protein-gene interactions and concentrations as they occur during the simulation. In addition, the layout of this genetic simulation can be changed into a visualization of a conceptual model of the simulated genetic network. The visual simulation and network visualization are integrated by animating the change between the simulation view and the visualization view. The flagella system of Escherichia coli has been used to verify the results of this tool and to provide a working model. This particle-based real-time visual simulations of genetic networks allows for virtual experimentation using similar methodologies of live experiments.