Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33902433›Full record

ArticleBMC bioinformatics2021

Advantages of using graph databases to explore chromatin conformation capture experiments.

Daniele D'Agostino, Pietro Liò, Marco Aldinucci, Ivan Merelli

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC bioinformatics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Daniele D'AgostinoInstitute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering, National Research Council of Italy, Genoa, Italy. dagostino@ieiit.cnr.it.
Pietro LiòComputer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Marco AldinucciComputer Science Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Ivan MerelliInstitute for Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, MI, Italy.

Funding

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 825111Horizon 2020 Framework Programme () 848077
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigh-throughput sequencing Chromosome Conformation Capture (Hi-C) allows the study of DNA interactions and 3D chromosome folding at the genome-wide scale. Usually, these data are represented as matrices describing the binary contacts among the different chromosome regions. On the other hand, a graph-based representation can be advantageous to describe the complex topology achieved by the DNA in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

methodsHere we discuss the use of a graph database for storing and analysing data achieved by performing Hi-C experiments. The main issue is the size of the produced data and, working with a graph-based representation, the consequent necessity of adequately managing a large number of edges (contacts) connecting nodes (genes), which represents the sources of information. For this, currently available graph visualisation tools and libraries fall short with Hi-C data. The use of graph databases, instead, supports both the analysis and the visualisation of the spatial pattern present in Hi-C data, in particular for comparing different experiments or for re-mapping omics data in a space-aware context efficiently. In particular, the possibility of describing graphs through statistical indicators and, even more, the capability of correlating them through statistical distributions allows highlighting similarities and differences among different Hi-C experiments, in different cell conditions or different cell types.

resultsThese concepts have been implemented in NeoHiC, an open-source and user-friendly web application for the progressive visualisation and analysis of Hi-C networks based on the use of the Neo4j graph database (version 3.5).

conclusionWith the accumulation of more experiments, the tool will provide invaluable support to compare neighbours of genes across experiments and conditions, helping in highlighting changes in functional domains and identifying new co-organised genomic compartments.

Indexed as

ChromatinChromosomesGenomeGenomicsMolecular ConformationChromatinChromatin captureGraph databasesGraph visualisationHi-C

Identifiers

PMID33902433
PMCPMC8073886

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.