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ORLANDO, USA, Oct 17, 2017/ PRNewswire/

Strand NGS now supports large scale RNA- and small-RNA-Seq and Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs) for DNA-, RNA-, and small-RNA-Seq.

Strand Life Sciences announced the latest version release of its bioinformatics flagship product, Strand NGS, at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics today. Two major themes in Strand NGS v3.1 address recent challenges in next generation sequencing (NGS).

The first theme is large-scale RNA-Seq data analysis. Current cross-cohort RNA- and small-RNA-Seq studies span tens of replicates and batches across hundreds of samples, sometimes conducted across several different institutions. For such studies, Strand NGS v3.1 includes confounding variable analysis to eliminate technical effects, including batch effects; the t-SNE plot; profile and heat-map plots of gene-body coverage; and several other notable visual enhancements.

The second new feature is support for Unique Molecular Identifiers, or UMIs, for DNA-, RNA- and small-RNA-Seq. UMI support in Strand NGS is end-to-end, spanning alignment to variant calling in DNA-Seq, and alignment to quantification in RNA- and small-RNA-Seq. The Bioo Scientific, Qiagen, and Rubicon UMI protocols are natively supported, and an intuitive interface allows the specification of custom UMI protocols.

“For liquid biopsies and low-grade FFPE samples, UMI support in DNA-Seq enables the detection of somatic variants at low concentrations. In RNA-Seq, large-scale and UMI support can be used in single-cell-based studies that reveal tumor-cell heterogeneity, even at low concentrations”, says Dr. Vamsi Veeramachaneni, Chief Scientific Officer, Strand Life Sciences.

“At Strand, we are continuously working towards improving the accuracy and efficiency of NGS data analysis. Customers can look forward to Strand NGS becoming available on the cloud in the near future”, says Dr. Ramesh Hariharan, Chief Executive Officer, Strand Life Sciences.

Visit Strand Life Sciences at ASHG booth #1017 to know more about Strand NGS v3.1 and other products and service offerings from Strand Life Sciences. Click here to access detailed agenda and v3.1 release notes.

About Strand Life Sciences

Strand Life Sciences is a premier life science informatics innovation company. Founded in 2000, Strand is a leader in technology innovations for healthcare using genomics. By enhancing sequence-based diagnostics and clinical genomic data interpretation using a strong foundation of computational, scientific, and medical expertise, Strand is bringing individualized medicine to the world. To know more, visit www.strandls.com

What is RNA-Seq?

RNA-Seq is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology used to study the transcriptome—the complete set of RNA molecules in a cell. It quantifies gene expression, detects novel transcripts, and captures alternative splicing events with high sensitivity and resolution.

Workflow for RNA-Seq Analysis

RNA-Seq analysis involves several stages, each requiring computational tools and expertise.

1. Experimental Design and Data Acquisition

Before diving into analysis, bioinformaticians should consider:

• Biological Replicates: Ensure statistical power to detect meaningful differences.
• Sequencing Depth: Align sequencing depth to study objectives (e.g., higher depth for low-abundance transcripts).
• Paired-End vs. Single-End: Paired-end sequencing provides more detailed information on transcript structure.

Once sequencing is complete, raw data is provided in FASTQ format, containing sequence reads and quality scores.

2. Quality Control and Preprocessing

Quality control (QC) ensures data integrity. Tools such as FastQC evaluate metrics like base quality, GC content, and adapter contamination.

Preprocessing Steps:

• Trimming: Tools like Trimmomatic or Cutadapt remove low-quality bases and adapter sequences.
• Filtering: Discard reads below a certain quality threshold or length.

3. Read Alignment

Reads are mapped to a reference genome or transcriptome to determine their origin. Alignment tools include:

• HISAT2: Handles large genomes efficiently and supports spliced alignments.
• STAR: High-speed aligner optimized for RNA-Seq.
• Bowtie2: Suitable for short-read alignment.

Output: A SAM/BAM file containing aligned reads.

4. Transcript Assembly and Quantification

This step involves identifying transcripts and quantifying their expression levels. Tools used include:

• StringTie: Assembles and quantifies transcripts from aligned reads.
• Salmon/Kallisto: Perform pseudo-alignment for rapid and accurate quantification.

Expression levels are typically measured as TPM (transcripts per million) or FPKM (fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads).

5. Differential Expression Analysis

To identify genes with altered expression between conditions, bioinformaticians use tools such as:

• DESeq2: Accounts for data normalization and variability.
• edgeR: Handles overdispersed count data efficiently.
• Limma-voom: Combines linear modeling with RNA-Seq count data.

The output includes a list of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with statistical significance and fold-change values.

6. Functional Annotation and Pathway Analysis

Understanding the biological significance of DEGs involves:

• Gene Ontology (GO) Analysis: Tools like DAVID or clusterProfiler categorize genes based on their biological functions.
• Pathway Enrichment Analysis: Identifies pathways enriched in DEGs using tools like KEGG, Reactome, or GSEA.

7. Visualization

Visualizing results enhances interpretability. Common visualizations include:

• Heatmaps: Show expression patterns across samples (e.g., pheatmap).
• Volcano Plots: Highlight significant DEGs (e.g., ggplot2).
• PCA/UMAP: Assess sample clustering and variability (e.g., Seurat).

Challenges in RNA-Seq Analysis

1. Batch Effects: Technical variability can confound biological signals. Combat this with normalization techniques or batch-correction tools like ComBat.
2. Low-Quality Samples: Poor-quality RNA impacts downstream analyses.
3. Computational Complexity: RNA-Seq generates massive datasets, requiring robust computing resources and optimized pipelines.

Key Tools and Resources

• Bioconductor: A treasure trove of R packages for RNA-Seq analysis.
• Galaxy: A web-based platform for running RNA-Seq workflows.
• Nextflow/Snakemake: Workflow management tools to streamline analyses.

Applications of RNA-Seq

RNA-Seq is used in diverse research areas, including:

• Cancer Transcriptomics: Identifying tumor-specific expression profiles.
• Developmental Biology: Studying dynamic transcriptome changes.
• Drug Discovery: Screening genes modulated by therapeutic compounds.

Conclusion

RNA-Seq analysis is a cornerstone of modern transcriptomics, offering bioinformaticians a versatile toolkit for unraveling gene expression and regulation. Mastering RNA-Seq workflows and tools empowers researchers to transform raw sequencing data into biological discoveries.

Whether you’re investigating disease mechanisms, exploring cellular pathways, or developing new therapeutics, RNA-Seq is a powerful ally in your bioinformatics arsenal.

High affinity antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) containing bicylic modifications (BNA) such as locked nucleic acid (LNA) or constrained ethyl (cEt) designed to induce target RNA cleavage have been shown to have enhanced potency along with a higher propensity to cause hepatotoxicity. In order to unravel the mechanism of this hepatotoxicity, we leveraged GeneSpring GX analysis software to analyze transcriptional profiles from the livers of mice treated with a panel of highly efficacious hepatotoxic or non-hepatotoxic LNA ASOs.

Speaker:
Sebastien A. Burel, PhD
Director, Nonclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, California

Details:
14 June 2017, 8 AM PST

Register for this Webinar

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