Identifying Functional Mechanisms of Gene and Protein Regulatory Networks in Response to a Broader Range of Environmental Stresses

Figure 8

Feedforward activation, feedback inhibition, and activation and cross talks of the condensed gene and protein regulatory networks are coordinated by a bow-tie core, that is, TFs, of gene and protein network in response to hypo-osmotic stress (blue), sorbitol osmotic stress (brown), and pheromone stress (orange), simultaneously: the connections from stresses to TFs are reconstructed according to Figures 5–7. For example, if a MAPK pathway under stress A, from membrane protein B to the downstream TF C of the pathway, is fully connected in Figures 5–7, the relationship, from stress A to membrane protein B and then to TF C, is connected with the same color through the whole pathway. The transcription regulations from TFs to target genes (solid thin lines) are deduced according to Figures 2–4. A target gene transcriptionally regulated under a certain stress may be transcribed to influence the concentration of its protein (TF) (dot lines) in response to the stress. In order to provide the protection against a variety of environmental stresses, the bow-tie core network can detect a broader range of molecular signatures for stresses and invoke effective response under resource-limited condition.