Small Cycles in Small Worlds
Condensed Matter
2007-05-23 v1 Molecular Networks
Abstract
We characterize the distributions of short cycles in a large metabolic network previously shown to have small world characteristics and a power law degree distribution. Compared with three classes of random networks, including Erdoes-Renyi random graphs and synthetic small world networks of the same connectivity, the metabolic network has a particularly large number of triangles and a deficit in large cycles. Short cycles reduce the length of detours when a connection is clipped, so we propose that long cycles in metabolism may have been selected against in order to shorten transition times and reduce the likelihood of oscillations in response to external perturbations.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0009124,
title = {Small Cycles in Small Worlds},
author = {Petra M. Gleiss and Peter F. Stadler and Andreas Wagner and David A. Fell},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0009124},
year = {2007}
}