Gene network models and neural development

Marnellos, G., and Mjolsness, E. D. (2003). In: Van Ooyen, A., ed. Modeling Neural Development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 27-48.

Abstract

Rapid advances in molecular biology and genomics in recent years have highlighted the need for theoretical tools to analyze and integrate a flood of data. In this chapter, we review mathematical and computational models of molecular processes underlying biological development and concentrate on the role of genes and their interactions. We describe in greater detail a gene network modeling formalism, based on neural networks, to study gene regulatory interactions during development. We apply this framework in a computational model of Drosophila early neurogenesis. Although such models are only small steps in the elucidation of how genes orchestrate the complex patterns of neural development, they could provide directions for subsequent research, and could be refined to deal with more powerful data as they become available.