Pathway Hunter Tool

Pathway Hunter Tool performs shortest-path analysis to identify biochemically valid connections between metabolites and to map metabolic routes across one or multiple sequenced genomes.

Key Features:

• Shortest Path Analysis: Performs comprehensive shortest path analyses across one or multiple organisms to identify direct routes between metabolites.
• Virtual Metabolic Networks: Constructs virtual metabolic networks using enzyme data to represent organism-specific or comparative networks.
• Network Metrics: Calculates network metrics including average shortest path (Jungnickel, 2002), average alternate paths, and identification of top hubs.
• Biochemical Validation Algorithm: Implements a novel algorithm that determines biochemically valid connections without predefined manual assignments by leveraging chemical structure information (global and local similarities).
• Metabolite Product/Substrate Discovery: Identifies all possible products or substrates associated with a specific metabolite.

Scientific Applications:

• Comparative Metabolic Connectivity: Enables comparative studies of metabolic connectivity and cross-talk among sequenced genomes.
• Pathway Mapping Across Organisms: Facilitates mapping and analysis of metabolic pathways and metabolite interactions across one or multiple organisms.
• Network Topology Analysis: Supports identification of network hubs and analysis of path length metrics to study metabolic network organization.

Methodology:

Performs shortest path analyses and constructs virtual metabolic networks from enzyme data; calculates average shortest path, average alternate paths, and top hubs; applies a novel algorithm that uses chemical structure information (global and local similarities) to determine biochemically valid metabolite connections without predefined manual assignments.