  We present a novel framework for inferring regulatory and sequence-level
information from gene co-expression networks. The key idea of our methodology
is the systematic integration of network inference and network topological
analysis approaches for uncovering biological insights. We determine the gene
co-expression network of Bacillus subtilis using Affymetrix GeneChip time
series data and show how the inferred network topology can be linked to
sequence-level information hard-wired in the organism's genome. We propose a
systematic way for determining the correlation threshold at which two genes are
assessed to be co-expressed by using the clustering coefficient and we expand
the scope of the gene co-expression network by proposing the slope ratio metric
as a means for incorporating directionality on the edges. We show through
specific examples for B. subtilis that by incorporating expression level
information in addition to the temporal expression patterns, we can uncover
sequence-level biological insights. In particular, we are able to identify a
number of cases where (i) the co-expressed genes are part of a single
transcriptional unit or operon and (ii) the inferred directionality arises due
to the presence of intra-operon transcription termination sites.
