LIVEtools : an R Package for Visualizing C. elegans Embryo Cell Tracking Data

Automated cell tracking in the C. elegans embryo using the StarryNite software pipeline has been a powerful tool to quantify the embryonic lineage, to define the spatiotemporal dynamics of gene expression, and to characterize developmental defects in mutants. The raw lineage traces are typically curated and visualized using the Java-based tool AceTree. However, these legacy visualization tools are often hard to deploy, are unstable on modern computer systems, and lack flexibility, especially for batch processing. LIVEtools is an R package that aims to simplify and automate C. elegans cell-tracking data visualization.