GeneFriends: gene co-expression databases and tools for humans and model organisms.

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Gene co-expression analysis offers insights into gene function and regulation.
• RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data is abundant for genomic research.
• Co-expression networks help infer gene relationships, prioritize genes, and assign function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the updated GeneFriends database and website.
• To provide researchers with enhanced tools for gene co-expression analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized RNA-sequencing data from 46,475 human and 34,322 mouse samples.
• Developed gene and transcript co-expression networks.
• Incorporated tissue-specific networks for human and mouse, dataset-specific maps (TCGA, GTEx), and networks for seven additional model organisms.

Main Results:

• The updated GeneFriends database offers comprehensive co-expression networks.
• Expanded coverage includes multiple species, tissues, and specific datasets.
• Provides a valuable resource for exploring gene relationships and functions.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced GeneFriends tool facilitates deeper understanding of gene biology.
• It supports gene function prediction and regulatory network inference.
• GeneFriends remains a freely accessible resource for the scientific community.