NemoLib: A Java Library for Efficient Network Motif Detection

Abstract

A network motif is defined as an overabundant subgraph pattern in a network and has been applied in various biological and medical problems. Various network motif detection algorithms and tools are currently available. However, most existing software programs are outdated, incompatible with modern operating systems, or do not provide sufficient operation instructions. Furthermore, most tools provide limited information regarding network motifs, which necessitates post-processing program to apply to real problems. Consequently, the lack of usability brings a certain amount of skepticism about the relevance of network motifs in investigating real biological problems. Therefore, this paper introduces NemoLib (network motif library) as a general purpose tool for detection and analysis of network motifs. NemoLib is highly programmable Java library which provides for extensibility.