The core will provide a basic analysis of RNA expression data free of charge using VAMPIRE only for Affymetrix data. We will perform pair-wise comparisons of sample groups (a group must contain a minimum of two samples) and provide the user with lists of genes that are differentially expressed between the groups. These genes will be mapped to GO and KEGG pathways to aid in biological interpretation. In order for us to provide this service, users must request this service when they drop off their samples. The user must also specify which samples make up the control group and which samples make up the test group.
The Core has two floating licenses to Agilent/Silicon Genetics GeneSpring. This software provides very useful statistical, filtering and visualization tools for microarray data that is MIAME compliant. The statistical tests include t-tests, 2-way ANOVA tests and 1-way post-hoc tests for identifying differentially expressed genes. GeneSpring also contains class prediction tools to identify genes capable of discriminating between one or more experimental parameters or sample phenotypes. Clustering options inlcude: gene trees (hierarchical clustering), experiment trees, self-organizing maps, k-means, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and QT clustering. The software allows 3D Data Visualization with in-depth and interactive representations of highly complex data. Sixteen transformations are available for flexible normalization options. These normalization steps can be applied in virtually any order and include operations such as dye swapping experiments and median polishing. In the Pathway Viewer, genes and their expression patterns can be visually characterized based on their location within a cellular pathway using either custom pathway diagrams or publicly available pathway maps.
DNA ArrayStar is another analysis software that can be used on Nimblegen expression arrays. It has established its reputation as an easy-to-use gene expression analysis software package that is brimming with visualization tools to help you analyze your microarray data, including Venn diagrams, a scatter plot, heat maps and line graphs for clustering, and a gene ontology tree. Use statistical tools in conjunction with the visualizations to isolate gene sets of interest and identify their biological significance.
The Core also has XRAY an analysis tool from Biotique systems. This tool can be used to analyze Affymetrix data and it is compatible with all Affymetrix chips, including Exon chips.
Other Options:
A number of other commercial software products are available. These tend to be expensive, highly-polished software packages for data analysis. For information on these, users should contact the company directly.
Academic software packages are also available. Most address one aspect of microarray analysis rather than provide a complete data analysis solution. They are generally free to the academic community, but features are more limited and documentation and support are usually weak. Some are downloadable programs whereas others are server-based and require data upload to the web-site. A number of useful programs are available.
