A Systems Approach for Dissecting Integrated Signaling Pathways: TORC1 and Ras/PKA Regulation of Glucose Induced Growth Control in S. cerevisiae

Abstract

One of the leading aims of systems biology is the complete delineation of the organization and architecture of signaling networks. Within this aim, characterizing integrated circuits is a particular challenge. Integrated circuits are the sites of information multiplexing, where input from multiple sources are combined into a single output or channel. A number of quantitative methods for analyzing epistasis within integrated pathways have been developed, with limited success. Here I present Expression Component Analysis, a novel approach for determining quantitative epistasis within an integrated signaling circuit, and describe the application of Expression Component Analysis in analyzing an interesting and important integrated signaling circuit in the model eukaryote, S.cerevisiae.