PLAE

PLAE enables exploration and analysis of single-cell gene expression in ocular and body transcriptomes (scEiaD) across vertebrate species to support comparative studies and marker discovery.

Key Features:

• Extensive Dataset: Contains over one million single cells from vertebrate eye and body transcriptomes compiled into the scEiaD database, covering four species, 60 distinct cell types, six ocular tissues, 23 body tissues, and 35 publications.
• Visualization Capabilities: Provides multiple visualization modalities to display gene expression patterns across cells, tissues, species, and cell types.
• Hypothesis Testing: Enables replication of known markers (e.g., neurogenic and cone macula markers) and supports identification of novel markers, including six proposed human cone region markers.

Scientific Applications:

• Cellular heterogeneity analysis: Analysis of cell-type–specific gene expression and cellular diversity within ocular and body tissues.
• Developmental process investigation: Examination of gene expression patterns relevant to ocular development and neurogenesis.
• Biomarker identification: Discovery and validation of candidate biomarkers for eye regions and cell types, including cone region markers.
• Comparative cross-species studies: Comparative analyses across four vertebrate species using the aggregated scEiaD dataset.
• Clinical and pathological research: Investigation of gene expression signatures relevant to ocular pathologies and translational research.

Methodology:

Integration and curation of single-cell transcriptome data into the scEiaD database with dataset standardization, and a web architecture designed to handle large-scale data and provide real-time query responses.