%0 Journal Article %T Similar Pathogen Targets in Arabidopsis thaliana and Homo sapiens Protein Networks %A Paulo Shakarian %A J. Kenneth Wickiser %J PLOS ONE %D 2012 %I Public Library of Science (PLoS) %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0045154 %X We study the behavior of pathogens on host protein networks for humans and Arabidopsis - noting striking similarities. Specifically, we preform -shell decomposition analysis on these networks - which groups the proteins into various ˇ°shellsˇ± based on network structure. We observe that shells with a higher average degree are more highly targeted (with a power-law relationship) and that highly targeted nodes lie in shells closer to the inner-core of the network. Additionally, we also note that the inner core of the network is significantly under-targeted. We show that these core proteins may have a role in intra-cellular communication and hypothesize that they are less attacked to ensure survival of the host. This may explain why certain high-degree proteins are not significantly attacked. %U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0045154