Executive Summary

the project:

This public repository is the collaborative work of the participants of the module "Bioinformatik und Systembiologie" in the Master Program BIDS. Within a six weeks time we aimed to build a COMBINE archive of the Bachmann model [1], a cellular signal transduction model. The main idea of creating a COMBINE archive is to gain reproducibility of the published data by 'combining' all necessary tools, data and metadata to run the simulation yourself without touching a 🧪. Isn´t that cool?

To provide a graphical representation of the Bachmann model [1] consistent with the COMBINE-standards, we chose the Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) and created a SBGN map from scratch.

Based on the authors´ diagram choice in the publications of Le Novère et al. and Touré et al. we chose the Process Description language for our COMBINE archive [2, 3]. Following the selection of the SBGN language, we identified several useful tools and ended up creating the PD map with Newt Editor. To confirm the validity of the developed SBGN we used the integrated validation feature of Newt Editor as well as imported the map into VANTED/SBGN-ED, Krayon for SBGN and SBGNViz. Finally, we visually improved the map by cleaning it up and colouring the most important features of the model.

In conclusion, we were able to develop a SBGN-conform process diagram for the model published in Bachmann et al. The process diagram was validated by the built-in validation tool of Newt Editor and by importing it into to three other tools. Our process diagram was mainly compatible with different tools, minor changes of the SBGN-ML code were necessary after exporting it from Newt. Finally, the diagram was beautified to provide a more readable graphical representation.

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References

[1] Bachmann, J. et al. Division of labor by dual feedback regulators controls JAK2/STAT5 signaling over broad ligand range. Molecular Systems Biology 7, 516 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2011.50

[2] Le Novère, N. Quantitative and logic modelling of molecular and gene networks. Nat Rev Genet 16, 146–158 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3885

[3] Touré, V., Le Novère, N., Waltemath, D. et al. Quick tips for creating effective and impactful biological pathways using the Systems Biology Graphical Notation. PLoS Comput Biol 14, e1005740 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005740