Cyrface: An interface from Cytoscape to R that provides a user interface to R packages [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/1tv]

Abstract

There is an increasing number of software packages to analyse biological experimental data in the R environment. In particular, Bioconductor, a repository of curated R packages, is one of the most comprehensive resources for bioinformatics and biostatistics. The use of these packages is increasing, but it requires a basic understanding of the R language, as well as the syntax of the specific package used. The availability of user graphical interfaces for these packages would decrease the learning curve and broaden their application. Here, we present a Cytoscape plug-in termed Cyrface that allows Cytoscape plug-ins to connect to any function and package developed in R. Cyrface can be used to run R packages from within the Cytoscape environment making use of a graphical user interface. Moreover, it links the R packages with the capabilities of Cytoscape and its plug-ins, in particular network visualization and analysis. Cyrface’s utility has been demonstrated for two Bioconductor packages (CellNOptR and DrugVsDisease), and here we further illustrate its usage by implementing a workflow of data analysis and visualization. Download links, installation instructions and user guides can be accessed from the Cyrface homepage (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/saezrodriguez/cyrface/).

Keywords

• Bioinformatics