GeRNet: a gene regulatory network tool

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are crucial in every process of life since they govern the majority of the molecular processes. Therefore, the task of assembling these networks is highly important. In particular, the so called model-free approaches have an advantage modeling the complexities of dynamic molecular networks, since most of the gene networks are hard to be mapped with accuracy by any other mathematical model. A highly abstract model-free approach, called rule-based approach, offers several advantages performing data-driven analysis; such as the requirement of the least amount of data. They also have an important ability to perform inferences: its simplicity allows the inference of large size models with a higher speed of analysis. However, regarding these techniques, the reconstruction of the relational structure of the network is partial, hence incomplete, for an effective biological analysis. This situation motivated us to explore the possibility of hybridizing with other approaches, such as biclustering techniques. This led to incorporate a biclustering tool that finds new relations between the nodes of the GRN. In this work we present a new software, called GeRNeT that integrates the algorithms of GRNCOP2 and BiHEA along a set of tools for interactive visualization, statistical analysis and ontological enrichment of the resulting GRNs. In this regard, results associated with Alzheimer disease datasets are presented that show the usefulness of integrating both bioinformatics tools.