Pathway Styles

PathVisio and WikiPathways are designed to support multiple pathway styles. Different Pathway styles are useful for different goals.

Molecular Interaction Maps (MIM)

A Molecular Interaction Map (MIM) is a diagram convention that is capable of unambiguous representation of networks containing multi-protein complexes, protein modifications, and enzymes that are substrates of other enzymes. This graphical representation makes it possible to view all of the many interactions in which a given molecule may be involved, and it can portray competing interactions, which are common in bioregulatory networks.

MIM's are most useful when you want to create a pathway diagram that is high in information density, when you have a large amount of detailed, curated experimental knowledge about a certain pathway. MIM pathways can be machine read, but they may not be suitable for quantative modeling

Website:  http://discover.nci.nih.gov/mim/
In scientific literature:  http://www.molbiolcell.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/1/1

Free style

Free style pathways can be used for teaching or presentation. Free style pathways are not suitable for computational modeling.