NeAT: a toolbox for the analysis of biological networks, clusters, classes and pathways

Nucleic Acids Res. 2008 Jul 1;36(Web Server issue):W444-51. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkn336. Epub 2008 Jun 4.

Abstract

The network analysis tools (NeAT) (http://rsat.ulb.ac.be/neat/) provide a user-friendly web access to a collection of modular tools for the analysis of networks (graphs) and clusters (e.g. microarray clusters, functional classes, etc.). A first set of tools supports basic operations on graphs (comparison between two graphs, neighborhood of a set of input nodes, path finding and graph randomization). Another set of programs makes the connection between networks and clusters (graph-based clustering, cliques discovery and mapping of clusters onto a network). The toolbox also includes programs for detecting significant intersections between clusters/classes (e.g. clusters of co-expression versus functional classes of genes). NeAT are designed to cope with large datasets and provide a flexible toolbox for analyzing biological networks stored in various databases (protein interactions, regulation and metabolism) or obtained from high-throughput experiments (two-hybrid, mass-spectrometry and microarrays). The web interface interconnects the programs in predefined analysis flows, enabling to address a series of questions about networks of interest. Each tool can also be used separately by entering custom data for a specific analysis. NeAT can also be used as web services (SOAP/WSDL interface), in order to design programmatic workflows and integrate them with other available resources.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cluster Analysis
  • Computer Graphics
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Internet
  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways*
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Protein Interaction Mapping*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Software*