Ten simple rules to create biological network figures for communication

• Published in: PLoS computational biology Vol. 15; no. 9; p. e1007244
• Main Authors: Marai, G Elisabeta, Pinaud, Bruno, Bühler, Katja, Lex, Alexander, Morris, John H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.09.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Attention; Bioinformatics; Biological systems; Biology; Biology and Life Sciences; Color; Communications; Computational Biology - methods; Computer and Information Sciences; Computer Graphics; Humans; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Physical Sciences; Protein Interaction Maps - physiology; Proteins; Proteomics; Science; Signal Transduction - physiology; Social Sciences; Visual Perception; Visualization; United States; United States > US; San Francisco California; California
• ISSN: 1553-7358; 1553-734X; 1553-7358
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007244

Biological network figures are ubiquitous in the biology and medical literature. On the one hand, a good network figure can quickly provide information about the nature and degree of interactions between items and enable inferences about the reason for those interactions. On the other hand, good network figures are difficult to create. In this paper, we outline 10 simple rules for creating biological network figures for communication, from choosing layouts, to applying color or other channels to show attributes, to the use of layering and separation. These rules are accompanied by illustrative examples. We also provide a concise set of references and additional resources for each rule.