thematicGO: A Keyword-Based Framework for Interpreting Gene Ontology Enrichment via Biological Themes
thematicGO simplifies functional enrichment analysis by bridging the gap between granular GO term outputs and higher-level biological interpretation using a theme concept, which can be especially useful for RNA-seq studies that identify differentially expressed genes. The new approach complements an orthogonal standard GO enrichment technique with transparent, theme-based aggregation and comparison against classical GO annotation approaches. thematicGO provides an easy, understandable, and reproducible tool for transcriptomic studies, particularly those involving RNA-seq data and complex biological responses.
Authors
- Leland C. Sudlow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9096-8450)
- Zhimu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3863-5752)
- Junwei Du
- Mikhail Y Berezin
Institutions
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Mallinckrodt (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-02-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.08.704666
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 22.24
Funders
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center
- Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance
- National Institutes of Health
- National Cancer Institute
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences