Exploratory data analysis groupware for qualitative and quantitative electrophoretic gel analysis over the...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Scientists analyze protein and nucleotide data from electrophoretic gels using quantitative measurements.
• Digital image files of gels are common, with quantification performed by stand-alone software.
• The need for sharing intermediate quantitative data among collaborators over the internet has increased.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a World Wide Web group-accessible software system, WebGel, for interactive exploration of electrophoretic gel data.
• To facilitate the sharing of intermediate quantitative and qualitative data among research collaborators.
• To enhance collaborative research through a groupware method for active data-sharing.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative and image gel data are copied to a database on the WebGel Web server.
• WebGel provides interactive analysis tools, including visualization of gel images and spot montages.
• Qualitative analysis uses Flicker-comparison, and quantitative analysis compares protein concentration values across gels.

Main Results:

• WebGel enables interactive exploration of qualitative and quantitative differences between electrophoretic gels.
• The system organizes labeled gel images into montages for easy comparison.
• Data analysis includes generating reports on statistical differences between sets of gels, aiding in disease state comparisons.

Conclusions:

• WebGel serves as a collaborative Internet tool, bridging the analysis of dissimilar gels.
• It enhances collaborative research by providing a groupware method for active data-sharing.
• The system facilitates the publishing and exploration of quantitative gel data for broader research impact.