Elucidating tissue specific genes using the Benford distribution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The RNA-seq technique is applied for the investigation of transcriptional behaviour. The reduction in sequencing costs has led to an unprecedented trove of gene expression data from diverse biological systems. Subsequently, principles from other disciplines such as the Benford law, which can be properly judged only in data-rich systems, can now be examined on this high-throughput transcriptomic information. The Benford law, states that in many count-rich datasets the distribution of the first significant digit is not uniform but rather logarithmic.

Results

All tested digital gene expression datasets showed a Benford-like distribution when observing an entire gene set. This phenomenon was conserved in development and does not demonstrate tissue specificity. However

SUBMITTER: Karthik D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4979126 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature