OrthoGuide: A Database for Rooting Inference of Orthologous Genes

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• Orthology analysis is crucial for understanding gene evolutionary history and pathway assembly.
• Large-scale orthology studies often require specialized computational tools and expertise, limiting accessibility.
• Existing methods present barriers for researchers without advanced computational skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce OrthoGuide, a database and web application for precomputed evolutionary rooting information.
• To enable researchers to explore evolutionary origins of gene sets easily and intuitively.
• To democratize access to orthology-based evolutionary analyses for system-level investigations.

Main Methods:

• Developed a database with precomputed evolutionary rooting information for orthologous groups.
• Created a web application with an intuitive interface for querying gene sets.
• Integrated interactive visualizations for interpreting evolutionary patterns.

Main Results:

• OrthoGuide provides precomputed evolutionary rooting for orthologous groups across 360 eukaryotic species.
• The platform allows rapid exploration of gene evolutionary origins without local computational workflows.
• Interactive visualizations aid in identifying key evolutionary events.

Conclusions:

• OrthoGuide removes technical barriers, enabling researchers to translate gene lists into hypotheses.
• The resource supports system-level evolutionary process investigations across diverse organisms.
• OrthoGuide democratizes access to large-scale evolutionary inferences and orthology analyses.