Heatplus

Heatplus generates heatmaps to visualize and analyze complex biological data matrices, facilitating interpretation of high-throughput genomics and molecular biology datasets.

Key Features:

• Hierarchical Clustering: Organizes both samples (columns) and features (rows) by default using hierarchical clustering to reveal patterns and relationships.
• Dendrogram Visualization: Plots dendrograms for samples and features alongside the heatmap to represent hierarchical relationships.
• Customizable Panels: Supports addition of panels that provide sample- and feature-level annotations to integrate contextual metadata with the heatmap.

Scientific Applications:

• Gene Expression Analysis: Identifies co-expressed genes or pathways from gene expression matrices.
• Protein–Protein Interaction Visualization: Represents protein–protein interaction data as heatmaps to highlight interaction patterns.
• Phenotype Comparison: Compares phenotypic traits across different biological samples using matrix-based visualization.

Methodology:

Implemented in R and leveraging the Bioconductor ecosystem, Heatplus performs hierarchical clustering of rows and columns and plots corresponding dendrograms alongside heatmaps.