Calculating Relative Chimeric RNA Expression with FusionBlaster.

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• Chimeric RNA molecules, formed from multiple genes, are implicated in various biological processes and diseases.
• Current tools for quantifying chimeric RNA expression are limited, hindering research.
• Understanding chimeric RNA expression is crucial for biological and disease research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel metric, the Relative Index of Chimeric Expression (RICE), for quantifying chimeric RNA.
• To present FusionBlaster, a user-friendly bioinformatics tool for calculating RICE values from RNA sequencing data.
• To enable differential expression analysis of chimeric transcripts.

Main Methods:

• Development of the RICE metric to compare chimeric transcript levels with wild-type parental transcripts.
• Creation of the FusionBlaster pipeline for automated RICE value calculation from RNA sequencing data.
• Guidance provided for applying FusionBlaster to differential RICE analysis using statistical methods.

Main Results:

• FusionBlaster provides an easy-to-use method for calculating RICE values.
• The RICE metric allows for the relative quantification of chimeric RNA expression.
• Users can perform differential RICE analysis on their RNA sequencing data.

Conclusions:

• FusionBlaster and the RICE metric offer a valuable new approach for studying chimeric RNA.
• This tool facilitates the investigation of chimeric RNA's functional roles in health and disease.
• The developed pipeline supports advanced analyses, including differential expression studies of chimeric transcripts.