Revealing how a biological network is organized to realize its function is one of the main topics in systems biology. The functional backbone network, defined as the primary structure of the biological network, is of great importance in maintaining the main function of the biological network. We propose a new algorithm, the tinker algorithm, to determine this core structure and apply it in the cell-cycle system. With this algorithm, the backbone network of the cell-cycle network can be determined accurately and efficiently in various models such as the Boolean model, stochastic model, and ordinary differential equation model. Results show that our algorithm is more efficient than that used in the previous research. We hope this method can be put into practical use in relevant future studies.
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