Protein interaction networks of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster: large-scale organization and robustness.

High-throughput screens have begun to reveal protein interaction networks in several organisms. To understand the general properties of these protein interaction networks, a systematic analysis of topological structure and robustness was performed on the protein interaction networks of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. It shows that the three protein interaction networks have a scale-free and high-degree clustering nature as the consequence of their hierarchical organization. It also shows that they have the small-world property with similar diameter at 4-5. Evaluation of the consequences of random removal of both proteins and interactions from the protein interaction networks suggests their high degree of robustness. Simulation of a protein's removal shows that the protein interaction network's error tolerance is accompanied by attack vulnerability. These fundamental analyses of the networks might serve as a starting point for further exploring complex biological networks and the coming research of "systems biology".