--- title: "Introduction to CAGEfightR" author: Malte Thodberg package: CAGEfightR abstract: > CAGEfightR is an R/Bioconductor for analyzing Cap Analysis of Gene Expression Data, including identification and quantification of both TSSs and enhancers, detailed annotation using transcript models, quantification of gene expression and visualizing it all in a genome browser. output: BiocStyle::html_document vignette: > %\VignetteIndexEntry{Introduction to CAGEfightR} %\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown} %\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8} --- ```{r setup, include = FALSE} knitr::opts_chunk$set( collapse = TRUE, comment = "#>" ) ``` # Installation Install the most recent stable version from Bioconductor: ```{r bioconductor, eval=FALSE} source("https://bioconductor.org/biocLite.R") biocLite("CAGEfightR") ``` And load `CAGEfightR`: ```{r library, results='hide', message=FALSE} library(CAGEfightR) ``` Alternatetively, you can install the development version directly from GitHub using `devtools`: ```{r github, eval=FALSE} devtools::install_github("MalteThodberg/CAGEfightR") ``` # Citation If you use CAGEfightR, please cite the following article: ```{r citation, eval=FALSE} citation("CAGEfightR") ``` # Getting help For general questions about the usage of CAGEfightR, use the [official Bioconductor support forum](https://support.bioconductor.org) and tag your question "CAGEfightR". We strive to answer questions as quickly as possible. For technical questions, bug reports and suggestions for new features, we refer to the [CAGEfightR github page](https://github.com/MalteThodberg/CAGEfightR/issues) # Quick start for the impatient A CAGEfightR anaysis usually starts with loading CAGE Transcription Start Sites (CTSSs) from BigWig-files (one for each strand): ```{r BigWig_files, results="hide", tidy=TRUE} # Load the example data data("exampleDesign") head(exampleDesign) # Locate files on your harddrive bw_plus <- system.file("extdata", exampleDesign$BigWigPlus, package = "CAGEfightR") bw_minus <- system.file("extdata", exampleDesign$BigWigMinus, package = "CAGEfightR") # Create two named BigWigFileList-objects: bw_plus <- BigWigFileList(bw_plus) bw_minus <- BigWigFileList(bw_minus) names(bw_plus) <- exampleDesign$Name names(bw_minus) <- exampleDesign$Name ``` The first step is to quantify CTSSs across all samples using `quantifyCTSSs`, which will return the results a `RangedSummarizedExperiment`: ```{r quickCTSSs, tidy=TRUE} # Get genome information genomeInfo <- SeqinfoForUCSCGenome("mm9") # Quantify CTSSs CTSSs <- quantifyCTSSs(plusStrand=bw_plus, minusStrand=bw_minus, design=exampleDesign, genome=genomeInfo) ``` The wrapper function `quickTSSs` will automatically find and quantify candidate TSSs, returning the results as a `RangedSummarizedExperiment`: ```{r quickTSSs, tidy=TRUE} TSSs <- quickTSSs(CTSSs) ``` Similarly, `quickEnhancers` will find and quantify candidate enhancers: ```{r quickEnhancers, tidy=TRUE} enhancers <- quickEnhancers(CTSSs) ``` We can then use transcript models stored in a `TxDb`-object to annotate each candidate TSS and enhancer with their transcript context: ```{r quickAnnotate, tidy=TRUE} # Use the built in annotation for mm9 library(TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene) txdb <- TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene # Annotate both TSSs and enhancers TSSs <- assignTxType(TSSs, txModels=txdb) enhancers <- assignTxType(enhancers, txModels=txdb) ``` Usually, candidate enhancers overlapping known transcripts are removed: ```{r quickFilter, tidy=TRUE} enhancers <- subset(enhancers, txType %in% c("intergenic", "intron")) ``` For usage with other Bioconductor package, it can be useful to merge candidate TSSs and enhancers into a single object: ```{r quickCombine, tidy=TRUE} # Add an identifier column rowRanges(TSSs)$clusterType <- "TSS" rowRanges(enhancers)$clusterType <- "enhancer" # Combine TSSs and enhancers, discarding TSSs if they overlap enhancers RSE <- combineClusters(TSSs, enhancers, removeIfOverlapping="object1") ``` Finally, for use with packages for calling differential expression (DESeq2, edgeR, limma, etc.) very lowly expressed features are removed: ```{r quickSupport, tidy=TRUE} # Only keep features with more than 0 counts in more than 1 sample: RSE <- subsetBySupport(RSE, inputAssay = "counts", outputColumn = "support", unexpressed = 0, minSamples = 1) ``` # Introduction and overview ## Introduction to CAGE data Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) is one of the most popular high-throughput assay for profiling Transcription Start Site (TSS) activity. CAGE is based on sequencing the first 20-30 basepairs of capped full-length RNAs, called CAGE-tags. When mapped to a reference genome, CAGE-tags can be used to identify both TSSs and enhancers. See the `CAGEfightR` paper for additional introduction. CAGE-data is often represented as CAGE TSSs (CTSSs), which is the the number of CAGE-tag 5'-ends mapping to each genomic position. CTSSs thereby represent a genome-wide, basepair resolution, quantitative atlas of transcription. CTSSs are inherently sparse, as only very few genomic positions are CTSSs, and only very few CTSSs have a high number of CAGE-tags. Analysis of CAGE data is often focused on identifying clusters of CTSSs that corresponds to activity of individual TSSs and enhancers. Having access to both TSSs and enhancers in a single experiment makes CAGE well suited for studying many aspects of transcriptional regulation, for example differential expression, motif analysis and alternative TSS usage. ## Central S4-classes There are two key S4-classes to understand when using CAGEfightR: The `GRanges`-class: Genomic locations or ranges are stored as `GRanges`-objects from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("GenomicRanges")` package. `GRanges` contain chromosome (`seqnames`), start (`start`) and end (`end`) positions of ranges, along with chromosome lengths (`seqinfo`). An important additional features is added information for each range via metadata columns (`mcols`). These can be anything almost anything, as long as they can be put into a `DataFrame`. Some metadata columns have special meanings: the score column (accesible via the `score` function) and thick column, as these columns can be exported to a standard BED-format file via the `export` function from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("rtracklayer")` package. The `RangedSummarizedExperiment`-class: Complete CAGE experiments can be stored as `RangedSummarizedExperiment`-objects from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("SummarizedExperiment")`, which implements the idea of the "three tables of genomics". A `RangedSummarizedExperiment` can store several matrices of the same shape, e.g. counts and normalized expression values (accesible via `assay` and `assays`), along with information about each sample as a `DataFrame`-object (accesible via `colData`) and about each feature as a `GRanges`-object like above (accesible via `rowRanges`). Many `GRanges` methods also work on`RangedSummarizedExperiment`-objects, like `sort`, `findOverlaps`, etc.. Storing all information as a single `RangedSummarizedExperiment` helps keeping data organized, for example when extracting subsets of the data, where `subset` can be used to simultaneously extract requested data from all three tables at once. Other S4-classes includes `TxDb`-objects from `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("GenomicFeatures")` and various track-objects from `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("Gviz")`. See [Annotation with transcript models] and [Plotting CAGE data in a genome browser] for more details. ## Overview of functions CAGEfightR conceptually analyses CAGE-data at 3 levels: 1) CTSS-level: Analysis at the level of number of CAGE tags per CTSS. 2) Cluster-level: Analysis at the level of clusters of CTSSs, usually TSSs and/or enhancers. 3) Gene-level: Analysis at the level of annotated genes. For easier overview, functions in `CAGEfightR` are organized by prefixes. The most important groups are: The `quantify*`-functions summarizes CAGE data to a higher level. In all cases, data is a stored as a `RangedSummarizedExperiment`: - `quantifyCTSSs`: Quantify the number of CAGE-tags for each CTSSs from BigWig-files. - `quantifyClusters`: Quantify the number of CAGE-tags within clusters of CTSSs, usually TSSs or enhancers. - `quantifyGenes`: Quantify the number of CAGE-tags within annotated genes, by summing the number of CAGE-tags annotated clusters. The `calc*`-functions modify data stored in a `RangedSummarizedExperiment`. The following `calc*` functions perform basic calculations applicable to all three levels: - `calcTotalTags`: Calculate the total number of CAGE tags in a library - `calcTPM`: Calcuate Tags-Per-Million (TPM) - `calcPooled`: Calculate a pooled signal across all samples - `calcSupport`: Count the number of samples expression a feature above some level. Useful for removing lowly expressed features via the `subsetBySupport` wrapper. Some `calc*` functions only work for a specfic level: - `calcShape`: Quantify the shape of TCs using `shape*`-functions. - `calcBidirectionality`: Count the number of samples showing bidirectional transcription. Useful for finding candidate enhancers via the `subsetByBidirectionality` wrapper. - `calcComposition`: Calculate how much each TSSs contribute to gene expression. Useful for removing lowly expressed TSSs via the `subsetByComposition` wrapper. The `cluster*`-functions can cluster CTSSs to find TSSs or enhancers: - `clusterUnidirectionally`: Find unidirectional or Tag Clusters (TCs). Search threshold can be be found using `tuneTagClustering`. TCs can be modified using the `trim*`-functions. - `clusterBidirectionally`: Find bidirectional clusters (BCs) for enhancer identification. The `assign*`-functions can annotate CTSSs and clusters with transcript and genes models: - `assignTxID`: Annotate clusters with transcript IDs - `assignTxType`: Annotate clusters based on their overlap with known transcripts, for example to determine whether a TSS is known or novel. - `assignGeneID`: Annotate with gene IDs, for example prior to running quantifyGenes. Other groups of functions are `bw*`-functions for checking BigWig-files, `swap*`-functions for manipulating `GRanges`-objects, `track*`-functions for visualization and `combine*`-functions for safe merging of different types of clusters. The `quick*`-functions are high-level wrappers for many other functions, intended to be used as single-line execution of the standard pipeline. ## Pipeability The majority of functions in `CAGEfightR` are _endomorphisms_, meaning they returned modified versions of the input objects. This often works by adding calculated values as new metadata columns, accesible via `rowData` or `mcols`. While not used in this vignette, this means that CAGEfightR is highly compatible with the pipes from the `r BiocStyle::CRANpkg("magrittr")` package. The main exceptions to pipeable functions this are the quantify* functions, that instead summarizes data between different levels. # Detailed Introduction The following section contains a detailed walkthrough of most of the functions in `CAGEfightR`, using the built-in dataset. To keep this vignette compact, the example dataset is extremely small - for a more realistic analysis of a full CAGE dataset using using both `CAGEfightR` and additional packages, additional workflows will be added in the future. ## CAGE Transcription Start Site (CTSS) level analysis As shown in the introduction [Quick start for the impatient], the first step of a `CAGEfightR` analysis is import CTSSs from BigWig-files with the `quantifyCTSSs` function. Rather than repeating this, we use the built-in `exampleCTSSs` object: ```{r exampleCTSSs, tidy=TRUE} data(exampleCTSSs) exampleCTSSs ``` This is a somewhat special `RangedSummarizedExperiment`: The assay is not a normal `matrix`, but rather a _sparse matrix_ (`dgCMatrix` from the `r BiocStyle::CRANpkg("Matrix")` package). Since CAGE data is inherently sparse (vast majority sites in the genome have no counts), storing CTSSs as a sparse matrix allows for much faster and memory efficient processing of data: ```{r dgCMatrix, tidy=TRUE} head(assay(exampleCTSSs)) ``` The ranges are stored as `GRanges`, where all ranges a one basepair wide: ```{r GPos, tidy=TRUE} rowRanges(exampleCTSSs) ``` ### Calculating pooled CTSSs For clustering CTSSs, we first want to calculate the the overall CTSSs signal across all samples, called _pooled_ CTSSs. However, since the different samples have different library sizes, CTSS counts must first be normalized. The simplest way of doing this is to use Tags-Per-Million (TPM, not to be confused with Transcripts-Per-Million or TxPM used in RNA-Seq): ```{r calc, tidy=TRUE} exampleCTSSs <- calcTPM(exampleCTSSs, inputAssay="counts", outputAssay="TPM", outputColumn="subsetTags") ``` `calcTPM` will calculate the total number of tags for each sample and store them in colData, and then scale counts into TPM and add them as a new assay: ```{r libSizes, tidy=TRUE} # Library sizes colData(exampleCTSSs) # TPM values head(assay(exampleCTSSs, "TPM")) ``` As this is just a subset of the original dataset, we instead use the total number tags from the the complete dataset, by specifying the name of the column in colData (Note that a warning is passed that we are overwritting the previous TPM assay): ```{r preCalcTPM, tidy=TRUE} exampleCTSSs <- calcTPM(exampleCTSSs, inputAssay="counts", totalTags="totalTags", outputAssay="TPM") head(assay(exampleCTSSs, "TPM")) ``` `calcPooled` will calculate pooled CTSSs by summing up TPM across sample for each CTSS and store it in the score-column: ```{r pooled, tidy=TRUE} # Library sizes exampleCTSSs <- calcPooled(exampleCTSSs, inputAssay="TPM") rowRanges(exampleCTSSs) ``` ### Calculating CTSS support to remove excess noise In some cases you might have a very large number of and/or very noisy samples (For example due to poor RNA quality), which can lead to an increase in the number of single tags spread across the genome. To alleviate this issue, CTSSs appearing in only a single or few samples can be discarded. We refer to this as calculating the _support_: the number of samples expressing a feature above some threshold: ```{r support, tidy=TRUE} # Count number of samples with MORE ( > ) than 0 counts: exampleCTSSs <- calcSupport(exampleCTSSs, inputAssay="counts", outputColumn="support", unexpressed=0) table(rowRanges(exampleCTSSs)$support) ``` The majority of CTSSs are only expressed in a single sample. We can discard these sites using `subset`, and then recalculate TPM values: ```{r subset, tidy=TRUE} supportedCTSSs <- subset(exampleCTSSs, support > 1) supportedCTSSs <- calcTPM(supportedCTSSs, totalTags="totalTags") supportedCTSSs <- calcPooled(supportedCTSSs) ``` Note, `CAGEfightR` warned that it was overwritting columns: Another option would be to save the output as new columns. The `subsetBySupport` function wraps the common task of calling `calcSupport` and `subset`. ### Unidirectional (tag) clustering: Finding Transcription Start Sites (TSSs) Once we have obtained pooled CTSSs, we can identify various types of clusters: Transcripts are rarely transcribed from just a single CTSS, but rather from a collection or cluster of nearby CTSSs corresponding to a single TSS. The simplest way of doing this is to group nearby CTSSs on the same strand into Tag Clusters (TCs), which are likely candidates for real TSSs (although some post-filtering is almost always a good idea, see next section). `CAGEfightR` does this by a slice-reduce approach: It finds sites above some value (slice) and then merges nearby sites (reduce). In the simplest form this can be run as: ```{r naiveTC, tidy=TRUE} naive_TCs <- clusterUnidirectionally(exampleCTSSs, pooledCutoff=0, mergeDist=20) ``` `clusterUnidirectionally` find TCs and outputs some summary statistics. We see that we have some very wide TCs (> 1000 bp wide). This is often the result of a just few spread-out tags that link several major TCs, which does not represent the TSS structure very well. This can be avoided by _tuning_ the cutoff used for slicing: The smallest value for cutoff value producing the largest number of TCs is chosen: ```{r tuning, tidy=TRUE} tuned <- tuneTagClustering(exampleCTSSs, mergeDist=20) tuned ``` Increasing the slice-cutoff by a very small amount greatly increases the number of TCs, by preventing merging of major TCs by weakly expressed CTSSs. We can then use this tuned cutoff value to identify TCs: ```{r tagClustering, tidy=TRUE} optimalCutoff <- tuned[which.max(tuned$nTCs),1] TCs <- clusterUnidirectionally(exampleCTSSs, pooledCutoff=optimalCutoff, mergeDist=20) ``` Note, we no longer have any very long TCs (For a real dataset it's not uncommon to have a few very long TCs left). Let's take a closer look at what's returned: ```{r TCanatomy, tidy=TRUE} TCs ``` The `GRanges` includes the chromosome, start and end positions of each TCs, as well as two other key values: The TC peak in the thick column: This the single position within the TC with the highest pooled TPM, and the sum of pooled TPM within the TC in the score column. In case you want to save TCs to a bed file, you can use the `export` function from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("rtracklayer")` package. ### Bidirectional clustering: Finding Enhancers CAGE is a unique technology in that it allows for the robust identification of enhancers by transcription of enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). Active enhancers produce weak but consistent bidirectional transcription of capped eRNAs, resulting in a characteristic CTSS pattern of two diverging peaks approximally 400 basepairs apart. CAGEfightR can identify this pattern by calculating a balance score ranging from 0 to 1, where 1 corresponds to perfectly divergent site (Technically, the balance score is the _Bhattacharyya coefficient_ measuring agreement with the "ideal" divergent site, see the `CAGEfightR` paper). Again, a slice-reduce approach can be use to identify invidividual enhancers based on the balance scores. We refer to this approach as _bidirectional clustering_ as opposed to the conventional _unidirectonal cluster_ used to identify TSSs: and hence the name of the cluster functions: `clusterBidirectionally` and `clusterUnidirectionally`: ```{r bidirectionalClustering, tidy=TRUE} enhancers <- clusterBidirectionally(exampleCTSSs, balanceThreshold=0.95) ``` Let's look closer at the returned `GRanges`: ```{r enhancerAnatomy, tidy=TRUE} enhancers ``` The `GRanges` includes the chromosome, start and end positions of each enhancer (enhancers are unstranded), as well as two other key values: the score column holds the sum of pooled CTSSs of the enhancer (on both strands) and the enhancer midpoint in the thick column: This is the maximally balanced site in the enhancers. Again, the `export` function from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("rtracklayer")` package can be used to export enhancers to a BED-file. As balance here is solely defined on the pooled CTSSs, a useful filter is to make sure the bidirectional site is also bidirectional in at least a single sample. Similarly to how we calculated support, we can calculate the sample-wise _bidirectionality_ of enhancers: ```{r bidirectionality, tidy=TRUE} # Calculate number of bidirectional samples enhancers <- calcBidirectionality(enhancers, samples=exampleCTSSs) # Summarize table(enhancers$bidirectionality) ``` Many enhancers are not observed to be bidirectional in one or more samples. We can remove these using `subset` (The `subsetBySupport` function wraps the common task of calling `calcBidirectionality` and `subset`): ```{r subsetBidirectionality, tidy=TRUE} enhancers <- subset(enhancers, bidirectionality > 0) ``` This bidirectional clustering approach identifies _any_ bidirectional site in the genome. This means that for example bidirectional promoters will also detected (given that they are sufficiently balanced). To remove these cases, annotation with transcript models can be used to remove bidirectional clusters overlapping known promoters and exons. This is described in the next section. ## Cluster level analysis Once interesting clusters (unidirectional TSSs candidates and bidirectional enhancer candidates) have been identified, they can be quantified and annotated with transcript models. We show this functionality using the built-in example data: ```{r exampleClusters, tidy=TRUE} # Load the example datasets data(exampleCTSSs) data(exampleUnidirectional) data(exampleBidirectional) ``` ### Quantifying expression at cluster level To look at differential expression, we must quantify the expression of each TC in each sample (in almost all cases you want to quantify the raw CTSS counts). This can be done using the `quantifyClusters` function (The example datasets have already been quantified, so here we will re-quantify the clusters): ```{r quantifyClusters, tidy=TRUE} requantified_TSSs <- quantifyClusters(exampleCTSSs, clusters=rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional), inputAssay="counts") requantified_enhancers <- quantifyClusters(exampleCTSSs, clusters=rowRanges(exampleBidirectional), inputAssay="counts") ``` This returns a RangedSummarizedExperiment with clusters in rowRanges and count matrix in assays. ### Removing weakly expressed clusters We often wish to remove weakly expressed clusters. Similarly to CTSSs, a simple approach is to remove cluster based on counts using the `subsetBySupport` function: ```{r supportOnCounts, tidy=TRUE} # Only keep enhancers expressed in more than one sample supported_enhancers <- subsetBySupport(exampleBidirectional, inputAssay="counts", unexpressed=0, minSamples=1) ``` Similarly, we can also first calculate TPM values for clusters, and then filter on TPM values: ```{r supportOnTPM, tidy=TRUE} # Calculate TPM using pre-calculated total tags: exampleUnidirectional <- calcTPM(exampleUnidirectional, totalTags = "totalTags") # Only TSSs expressed at more than 1 TPM in more than 2 samples exampleUnidirectional <- subsetBySupport(exampleUnidirectional, inputAssay="TPM", unexpressed=1, minSamples=2) ``` ### Annotation with transcript models While CAGE can identify TSSs and enhancers completely independent of annotation, it is often useful to compare these to existing annotations. Bioconductor stores transcript models using the `TxDb` class from the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("GenomicFeatures")` package. There are multiple ways to obtain a `TxDb` object: - Use the `TxDb`-objects included as Bioconductor packages: For this vignette we use the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene")` package. - Import a GTF or GFF3 file using the `makeTxDbFromGFF` function from `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("GenomicFeatures")`. - Use the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("AnnotationHub")` package to directly download `TxDb` objects for a wide range of organisms. - Use `makeTxDbFromBiomart`, `makeTxDbFromUCSC` or `makeTxDbFromEnsembl` from from `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("GenomicFeatures")` to create `TxDb` objects from various online sources. In case you really do not want to use a `TxDb` object, all annotation functions in `CAGEfightR` also accepts `GRanges` or `GRangesList` as input. ```{r txdb, tidy=TRUE} library(TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene) txdb <- TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene txdb ``` First, we might simply inquire as to what transcripts overlaps our clusters, which is done via the `assignTxID` function: ```{r assignTxID, tidy=TRUE} exampleUnidirectional <- assignTxID(exampleUnidirectional, txModels=txdb, outputColumn="txID") ``` Note, that a single TC can overlap multiple transcripts (names are separated with a `;`): ```{r multipleTxs, tidy=TRUE} rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional)[5:6] ``` In many cases, we are not so much interested in what specific transcripts a cluster overlaps, but rather _where_ in a transcript a cluster lies - for example whether it is located at the annotated TSSs, in the 5'-UTR or in the CDS region. However, due to overlapping transcripts, these categories might overlap, for example a region might be an exon in one transcripts, but skipped in another due to alternative splicing. To get around this, `CAGEfightR` implements a hierachical annotation scheme (See the `CAGEfightR` paper for a detailed description), implemented in the `assignTxType` function: ```{r assignTxType, tidy=TRUE} exampleUnidirectional <- assignTxType(exampleUnidirectional, txModels=txdb, outputColumn="txTyp") ``` The function returns a small summary of the annotation: At the top of the hierachy we have overlap with annotated promoter (+/- 100 basepairs from the annotated TSSs, with this distance being changeable when running the function), followed by proximal (- 1000 upstrema of the annotated TSS). Coding transcripts can be annotated as 5'-UTR, 3-'UTR, CDS and intron, while non-conding transcripts are simply annotated as exon or intron. At the bottom of the hierachy, clusters overlapping genes on the opposite strand are annotated as antisense. Finally, in case a cluster does not overlap any transcript, it is annotated as intergenic. Highly expressed TSSs can be quite wide, and overlap many different categories. It can be useful to only annotate the TSSs peak rather than the the entire TSSs to obtain more representative annotations: ```{r swappedTxType, tidy=TRUE} exampleUnidirectional <- assignTxType(exampleUnidirectional, txModels=txdb, outputColumn="peakTxType", swap="thick") ``` Annotation with transcript models are particular useful for enhancer detecting, since bidirectional cluster might in some cases be very balanced bidirectional promoters. We can remove enhancers overlapping known transcripts: ```{r enhancerTxType, tidy=TRUE} # Annotate with TxTypes exampleBidirectional <- assignTxType(exampleBidirectional, txModels=txdb, outputColumn="txType") # Only keep intronic and intergenic enhancers exampleBidirectional <- subset(exampleBidirectional, txType %in% c("intron", "intergenic")) ``` Of course, this way of filtering relies on having accurate transcript models! ### Quantifying shape of Tag Clusters We have already looked at two characteristics of Tag Clusters (TCs) in addition their genomic location: the expression level (score column) and TSSs peak (thick column). One can further describe TCs beyond these two measures. For example, it was found that mammalian TSSs can be divided into "sharp" or "broad" TSSs, by comparing the Interquartile Range (IQR). We refer to such a measure as a _shape statistic_ and `CAGEfightR` includes a few built-in functions for shape statistics (IQR, entropy and multimodality) as well as an easy framework for implementing your own. Let's see how this works by calculating the IQR for TSSs. First, we need to calculate pooled CTSS: ```{r calcIQR, tidy=TRUE} # Recalculate pooled signal exampleCTSSs <- calcTPM(exampleCTSSs, totalTags = "totalTags") exampleCTSSs <- calcPooled(exampleCTSSs) # Calculate shape exampleUnidirectional <- calcShape(exampleUnidirectional, pooled=exampleCTSSs, outputColumn = "IQR", shapeFunction = shapeIQR, lower=0.25, upper=0.75) ``` A plot of the distribution of IQR values reveals the distinction between broad and sharp TSSs: ```{r histIQR, tidy=TRUE} hist(rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional)$IQR, breaks=max(rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional)$IQR), xlim=c(0,100), xlab = "IQR", col="red") ``` `shapeEntropy` works in the same way. Advanced users may implement their own shape statistic by writing a new function: ```{r customShape, tidy=TRUE} # Write a function that quantifies the lean of a TSS shapeLean <- function(x, direction){ # Coerce to normal vector x <- as.vector(x) # Find highest position: i <- which.max(x) # Calculate sum i_total <- sum(x) # Calculate lean fraction if(direction == "right"){ i_lean <- sum(x[i:length(x)]) }else if(direction == "left"){ i_lean <- sum(x[1:i]) }else{ stop("direction must be left or right!") } # Calculate lean o <- i_lean / i_total # Return o } # Calculate lean statistics, # additional arguments can be passed to calcShape via "..." exampleUnidirectional <- calcShape(exampleUnidirectional, exampleCTSSs, outputColumn = "leanRight", shapeFunction=shapeLean, direction="right") exampleUnidirectional <- calcShape(exampleUnidirectional, exampleCTSSs, outputColumn = "leanLeft", shapeFunction=shapeLean, direction="left") ``` ## Gene level analysis CAGE can detect TSSs and enhancers completely independent of existing gene models. However many databases of functional annotation, such as GO and KEGG terms, are only available at gene level. One might need to compare CAGE data to existing RNA-Seq or Microarray data only available at the gene level. Another typical analysis is to look at Differential TSS Usage (DTU), sometimes refered to as alternative TSSs or promoter switches. Here the aim is to identify if genes utilize different TSSs under different conditions, independently of whether the overall gene expression changes. ### Annotation with gene models In a similar fashion to transcript annotation described above [Annotation with transcript models], gene models are obtained via `TxDb` objects: ```{r geneSetup, tidy=TRUE} # Load example TSS data(exampleUnidirectional) # Keep only TCs expressed at more than 1 TPM in more than 2 samples: exampleUnidirectional <- calcTPM(exampleUnidirectional, totalTags = "totalTags") exampleUnidirectional <- subsetBySupport(exampleUnidirectional, inputAssay="TPM", unexpressed=1, minSamples=2) # Use the Bioconductor mm9 UCSC TxXb library(TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene) txdb <- TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene ``` The `assignGeneID` function annotate ranges with gene IDs: ```{r geneModels, tidy=TRUE} exampleUnidirectional <- assignGeneID(exampleUnidirectional, geneModels=txdb, outputColumn="geneID") ``` TSSs not overlappping any genes receive NA, and in the (usually rare) case of a TC overlapping multiple genes, the gene with the closest annotated TSS is chosen: What type of gene ID is returned of course depends on the source of the `TxDb` object supplied. In this case, it is Entrez IDs, the most commonly used ID system in Bioconductor. Entrez IDs can be used to find the corresponding gene symbols using an `OrgDb` object: ```{r symbols, tidy=TRUE} # Use Bioconductor OrgDb package library(org.Mm.eg.db) odb <- org.Mm.eg.db # Match IDs to symbols symbols <- mapIds(odb, keys=rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional)$geneID, keytype="ENTREZID", column="SYMBOL") # Add to object rowRanges(exampleUnidirectional)$symbol <- as.character(symbols) ``` For most gene-level operations in `CAGEfightR` NAs (TCs not overlapping genes) are simply removed. If you wish to keep these TCs, you can relabel them as "Novel" genes via the `assignMissingID` function: ```{r assignMissing, tidy=TRUE} exampleUnidirectional <- assignMissingID(exampleUnidirectional, outputColumn="symbol") ``` ### Quantify expression at gene-level Once TCs have been assigned to genes, TC expression can be summed up within genes to obtain a gene-level expression matrix via the `quantifyGenes` function: ```{r quantifyGenes, tidy=TRUE} genelevel <- quantifyGenes(exampleUnidirectional, genes="geneID", inputAssay="counts") ``` This returns a `RangedSummarizedExperiment` with the same number of rows as genes. The ranges are returned as a `GRangesList` of the individual TSSs making up the expression of the genes: ```{r geneGRangesList, tidy=TRUE} rowRanges(genelevel) ``` Gene-level values are accesible via the `rowData` function: ```{r rowData, tidy=TRUE} rowData(genelevel) ``` The gene-level expression matrix can now be supplied to many other Bioconductor packages, including DESeq2, edgeR, limma, etc. ### Filtering clusters based on gene composition When looking at Differential TSS Usage (DTU) we are interested in changes in the contribution of individual TCs to overall gene expression. Since CAGE can detect even very lowly expressed TSSs, it is common to see TSSs making up only a very small fraction of the total gene expression. Removing these TSSs can improve power and clarity of downstream analyses. `CAGEfightR` can calculate the _composition_ value of intragenic TCs, defined as the number of samples expressing a TC at more than a certain fraction of total gene expression. This is implemented in the `calcComposition` function: ```{r calcComposition, tidy=TRUE} # Remove TSSs not belonging to any genes intragenicTSSs <- subset(exampleUnidirectional, !is.na(geneID)) # Calculate composition: The number of samples expressing TSSs above 10% of the total gene expression. intragenicTSSs <- calcComposition(intragenicTSSs, outputColumn="composition", unexpressed=0.1, genes="geneID") # Overview of composition values: table(rowRanges(intragenicTSSs)$composition) ``` We can see that many TSSs makes up less than 10% in all samples. These can be removed with `subset`: ```{r subsetComposition, tidy=TRUE} # Remove TSSs with a composition score less than 3 intragenicTSSs <- subset(intragenicTSSs, composition > 2) ``` The `subsetByComposition` function wraps the common task of calling `calcComposition` and `subset`. After filtering, the resulting expression matrix can be used with popular Bioconductor packages for DTU calling, such as DEXSeq, DRIMSeq, edgeR, limma, etc. ## Plotting CAGE data in a genome browser [Zenbu](http://fantom.gsc.riken.jp/zenbu/) is an excellent online genome browser for visualizing CAGE data in relation to annotation in an interative manner. For producing figures (or possibly a very large number of figures) of specific genomic regions, it can be useful to use R to generate genome browser-like plots. `CAGEfightR` can produce genome browser plots via the popular and extensive `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("Gviz")` package. `CAGEfightR` provides functions for generating genome browser tracks for both CTSSs and clusters. For general generation and customization of GViz plots we refer to the extensive `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("Gviz")` manual. Below we include some basic examples of visualizing CAGE data. First we load use the built-in datasets: ```{r GViz, tidy=TRUE} library(Gviz) data("exampleCTSSs") data("exampleUnidirectional") data("exampleBidirectional") ``` First we make a track of pooled CTSSs: ```{r builtCTSStrack, tidy=TRUE} # Calculate pooled CTSSs exampleCTSSs <- calcTPM(exampleCTSSs, totalTags="totalTags") exampleCTSSs <- calcPooled(exampleCTSSs) # Built the track pooled_track <- trackCTSS(exampleCTSSs, name="CTSSs") ``` The returned object is a `DataTrack`, which we can plot a specific genomic region of: ```{r plotCTSStrack, tidy=TRUE} # Plot the main TSS of the myob gene plotTracks(pooled_track, from=74601950, to=74602100, chromosome="chr18") ``` Secondly, we make a track of clusters: This function can handle both TSSs and enhancers, so we first merge them into a single object: ```{r clusterTrack, tidy=TRUE} # Remove columns exampleUnidirectional$totalTags <- NULL exampleBidirectional$totalTags <- NULL # Combine TSSs and enhancers, discarding TSSs if they overlap enhancers CAGEclusters <- combineClusters(object1=exampleUnidirectional, object2=exampleBidirectional, removeIfOverlapping="object1") # Only keep features with more than 0 counts in more than 2 samples CAGEclusters <- subsetBySupport(CAGEclusters, inputAssay = "counts", unexpressed=0, minSamples=2) # Built track cluster_track <- trackClusters(CAGEclusters, name="Clusters", col=NA) ``` The returned object is a `GeneRegionTrack`, which we can plot the same genomic region of: ```{r plotClustertrack, tidy=TRUE} # Plot the main TSS of the myob gene plotTracks(cluster_track, from=74601950, to=74602100, chromosome="chr18") ``` Of course, we want to combine several different tracks into a single overview. There is multiple ways of doing this, and the code below is just one such way: ```{r prettybrowser, tidy=TRUE} # Genome axis tracks axis_track <- GenomeAxisTrack() # Transcript model track library(TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene) txdb <- TxDb.Mmusculus.UCSC.mm9.knownGene tx_track <- GeneRegionTrack(txdb, name="Gene Models", col=NA, fill="bisque4", shape="arrow") # Merge all tracks all_tracks <- list(axis_track, tx_track, cluster_track, pooled_track) # Plot the Hdhd2 gene plotTracks(all_tracks, from=77182700, to=77184000, chromosome="chr18") # Plot an intergenic enhancer plotTracks(all_tracks, from=53499000, to=53499600, chromosome="chr19") ``` ## Parallel execution Currently, two functions can utilize multiple cores for computation, `quantifyCTSSs` and `tuneTagClustering`. The central one is `quantifyCTSSs`, which is usually the slowest and most memory consuming step of a `CAGEfightR` analysis. `quantifyCTSSs` automatically uses the default backend registered with the `r BiocStyle::Biocpkg("BiocParallel")` package. This can be changed in the following way: ```{r parallel, tidy=TRUE, eval=FALSE} library(BiocParallel) # Setup for parallel execustion with 3 threads: register(MulticoreParam(workers=3)) # Disable parallel execution register(SerialParam()) ``` # Session Info ```{r sessionInfo, tidy=TRUE} sessionInfo() ```