Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42204477›Full record

ArticleBMC bioinformatics2026

MetaTree: an interactive web platform for aligned hierarchical data visualization and multi-group comparison.

Qing Wu, Ailing Zhang, Zhibin Ning, Daniel Figeys

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC bioinformatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Qing Wu *Faculty of Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Ailing Zhang *Faculty of Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Zhibin NingFaculty of Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Daniel FigeysFaculty of Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. daniel.figeys@quadram.ac.uk.

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-03905-2018
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHierarchical quantitative profiles are widely used in microbiome studies and other domains. However, comparing multiple samples and experimental groups while preserving hierarchical structure remains challenging. Many existing workflows require extensive manual figure assembly or do not support aligned comparisons across conditions on a shared hierarchy.

resultsWe developed MetaTree, an open-source platform that runs in a web browser for interactive visualization and comparative analysis of hierarchical quantitative data. MetaTree anchors samples, groups, and contrasts between groups to a shared reference hierarchy, preserving one-to-one node correspondence so that the same clade is compared in the same position across views. In addition to visualization, MetaTree integrates statistical testing for comparisons between two groups with false discovery rate (FDR) control, enabling users to identify clades with consistent differences between conditions and interpret them in hierarchical context. MetaTree also provides user configurable controls for visual encoding, filtering thresholds, label density, and layout, allowing figures to be adapted to different datasets and reporting needs. The interface remains usable for large hierarchies through interactive navigation, adaptive label handling, and branch collapsing.

conclusionsMetaTree is an installation-free web platform ( https://byemaxx.github.io/MetaTree ) for topology-consistent visualization and comparison of hierarchical profiles, supporting coordinated multi-panel exploration and automated comparison matrices to enable rapid generation of publication-ready figures for microbiome and other hierarchical datasets.

Indexed as

Computational BiologyData VisualizationInternetSoftwareMicrobiotaUser-Computer InterfaceHeat-treeHierarchical visualizationMetaTreeTopology-consistent comparisonWeb-based software

Identifiers

PMID42204477
PMCPMC13393875

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.