CATCH

CATCHprofiles is a powerful software tool designed to detect protein-DNA binding patterns in Chromatin Immuno Precipitation (ChIP) profiling data. ChIP profiling is a technique that detects in vivo protein-DNA binding and has brought to light the complex combinatorial patterns in the binding of chromatin-associated proteins and their post-translational modifications. To fully explore the spatial and combinatorial patterns in ChIP-profiling data and detect potentially meaningful patterns, the enrichment areas must be aligned and clustered, which is an algorithmically and computationally challenging task.

CATCHprofiles provides an innovative solution for pattern detection in ChIP profiling data. The software tool is built upon a computationally efficient implementation for ChIP profiling data's exhaustive alignment and hierarchical clustering. It features a graphical interface that enables easy browsing and examination of the clustering results. One of the most significant advantages of CATCHprofiles is that it requires no prior knowledge about functional sites. It has the ability to detect known binding patterns "ab initio," and it can also enable the detection of new patterns from ChIP data at a high resolution.

The capacity to detect new patterns is illustrated by the software's ability to detect asymmetric histone and histone modification patterns around H2A.Z-enriched sites. The software's comprehensive capability for exhaustive analysis and ease of use makes it an invaluable tool for explorative research based on ChIP profiling data. CATCHprofiles is available for free through the CATCH website, and it runs on all platforms.