Defining all networks that can achieve biological functions

In systems biology it is common to study networks of biochemical reactions in order to understand the role those reactions play in carrying out a biological function. A central question is then, how is the network topology related to the particular function. We consider the question: given a biological function, how to identify all possible topologies that can accomplish that function. Our approach leverages recent advances in model reduction. We begin with a fully connected network topology and fit it to artificial data corresponding to a particular function. We then perform model reduction to remove irrelevant edges from the network. The result is a minimal network that can carry out that function.