CREPE: a Shiny app for transcription factor cataloguing

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Transcription factors (TFs) are crucial proteins regulating gene expression and cellular phenotypes.
• Identifying TFs is fundamental for deciphering complex gene regulatory networks.
• Understanding TF repertoires across species can reveal evolutionary insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present CREPE, a novel R Shiny application designed for cataloguing and annotating transcription factors.
• To provide a user-friendly tool for researchers investigating gene regulation.
• To demonstrate CREPE's utility by analyzing TF repertoires in butterfly species.

Main Methods:

• Development of CREPE as an R Shiny app package.
• Benchmarking CREPE against well-curated human TF datasets.
• Application of CREPE to identify and annotate TFs in *Heliconius erato* and *Heliconius melpomene*.

Main Results:

• CREPE successfully catalogues and annotates transcription factors.
• The app was validated using established human TF datasets.
• CREPE facilitated the exploration of TF repertoires in two butterfly species.

Conclusions:

• CREPE is a valuable tool for TF identification and annotation.
• The application aids in the study of gene regulatory networks.
• CREPE enables comparative TF repertoire analysis across diverse organisms.