An Extension of ERODE to Reduce Boolean Networks By Backward Boolean Equivalence

Georgios Argyris, Alberto Lluch-Lafuente, Mirco Tribastone, Max Tschaikowski, Andrea Vandin

Abstract: Boolean Networks (BN) are established tools for modelling biological systems. However, their analysis is hindered by the state space explosion: the exponentially many states on the variables of a BN. We present an extension of the tool for model reduction ERODE with support for BNs and their reduction with a recent method called Backward Boolean Equivalence (BBE). BBE identifies maximal sets of variables that retain the same value whenever initialized equally. ERODE has been also extended to support importing and exporting between different formats and model repositories, enhancing interoperability with other tools.