Gene Updater

Gene Updater corrects gene name auto-conversion errors introduced by Microsoft Excel, restoring HGNC-compliant gene symbols in gene expression datasets to support accurate pathway analyses.

Key Features:

• Excel date-to-gene correction: Converts gene symbols that were auto-converted to dates by Microsoft Excel back to their correct gene names.
• HGNC compliance: Aligns corrected gene symbols with HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) standards.
• Ambiguity resolution: Resolves ambiguous date-to-gene mappings (e.g., Mar-01 and Mar-02).
• Pathway preservation: Prevents gaps in pathway analyses by preserving gene symbols for querying pathway databases, including cell division, exocytosis, cilium assembly, protein ubiquitination, and nitric oxide biosynthesis.
• Data type support: Operates on gene expression data files originating from Microsoft Excel.

Scientific Applications:

• Pathway analysis: Enables comprehensive pathway enrichment and network analyses by restoring correct gene symbols for queries against pathway databases.
• Gene expression preprocessing: Prepares gene expression datasets for downstream bioinformatics workflows by correcting Excel-induced symbol errors.
• Molecular pathway studies: Supports analyses of specific molecular pathways such as cell division, exocytosis, cilium assembly, protein ubiquitination, and nitric oxide biosynthesis by ensuring accurate gene identification.

Methodology:

Maps Excel date-formatted strings back to gene symbols using HGNC nomenclature and resolves ambiguous date-to-gene mappings.