PyNetMet: Python tools for efficient work with networks and metabolic models

Abstract

Background: The study of genome-scale metabolic models and their underlying networks is one of the most important fields in systems biology. The complexity of these models and their description makes the use of computational tools an essential element in their research. Therefore there is a strong need of efficient and versatile computational tools for the research in this area. Results: In this manuscript we present PyNetMet, a Python library of tools to work with networks and metabolic models. These are open-source free tools for use in a Python platform, which adds considerably versatility to them when compared with their desktop software similars. On the other hand these tools allow one to work with different standards of metabolic models (OptGene and SBML) and the fact that they are programmed in Python opens the possibility of efficient integration with any other already existing Python tool. Conclusions: PyNetMet is, therefore, a collection of computational tools that will facilitate the research work with metabolic models and networks.