Quartet RNA reference materials improve the quality of transcriptomic data through ratio-based profiling.

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Reliable RNA sequencing is crucial for detecting subtle biological variations in clinical settings, such as disease subtyping.
• Quality control and data integration are essential for multi-omics profiling in research and clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish certified RNA reference materials for assessing RNA sequencing reliability.
• To create ratio-based transcriptome-wide reference datasets for cross-platform and cross-laboratory validation.
• To enable sensitive assessment of transcriptomic data integration and quality.

Main Methods:

• Development of four RNA reference materials from immortalized B-lymphoblastoid cell lines of monozygotic twins (Quartet Project).
• Construction of ratio-based transcriptome-wide reference datasets between sample pairs.
• Utilizing subtle biological differences among Quartet samples for quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Established certified RNA reference materials and ratio-based transcriptome datasets.
• Demonstrated the utility of these materials for assessing cross-batch integration of transcriptomic data at the ratio level.
• Provided a 'ground truth' for transcriptome-wide comparisons across platforms and laboratories.

Conclusions:

• The Quartet RNA reference materials and associated datasets are valuable resources for quality assessment in transcriptomics.
• These materials support the improvement of transcriptomic data quality in both clinical and biological research.
• Enhances the reliability of RNA sequencing for detecting small biological differences, aiding molecular subtyping and diagnostics.