GeneSEA Explorer: An R Shiny Tool for Differential Gene Expression Analysis With Shannon's Entropy Aggregation

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become the primary method for differential gene expression (DGE) analyses in transcriptome research. Despite the widespread use of R packages like Deseq2 and edgeR for RNA-seq data analysis, a persistent challenge that still remains is the variability in differentially expressed gene (DEG) lists that arises from the choice of normalization method, complicating the identification of a stable and biologically meaningful set of DEGs. Furthermore, the complexity of these packages often requires programming proficiency, leading researchers to rely on default normalization methods or to choose those they are most familiar with. Consequently, comparative analyses of DGE results across different normalization methods are frequently overlooked. We introduce a novel Shiny application, GeneSEA Explorer, developed to perform DGE and functional enrichment analyses while incorporating several normalization methods. The application presents results through interactive plots and tables, enhancing data visualization and interpretation. Notably, it employs Shannon entropy, a novel and innovative approach in transcriptomics, to aggregate DGE results, providing reliable outcomes to support research conclusions. GeneSEA Explorer is a user-friendly interface that enables researchers to effortlessly explore, compare and analyse diverse DGE results across various normalization methods. The innovative incorporation of Shannon entropy to aggregate DGE outputs provides an informative selection of DEGs, enhancing researchers' understanding of their RNA-Seq data results. GeneSEA Explorer is an innovative bioinformatics tool for conducting DGE analysis. It is designed to minimize challenges for researchers less familiar with this domain while simplifying data exploration, making the process more efficient and accessible. The tool is implemented in R Shiny and is available at https://github.com/MargaridaGoncalves/GeneSEA-Explorer.