In a study published in Cell Systems, the SysFate laboratory (UMR8030/Genoscope/CEA-Jacob) presented MULTILAYER, an algorithm that provides digital functional maps of biological organs or tissues. When combined with spatial transcriptomics and molecular analyses, MULTILAYER may contribute to the development of novel molecular diagnostics solutions.
Researchers at the SysFate laboratory1 (UMR8030/Genoscope) have developed and published in Cell Systems a method, called MULTILAYER, to furnish digital spatial images of activity within biological tissues. The tool takes inspiration from image analysis and associates therein the lab's expertise in "omics" (genomics, transcriptomics, etc.).
In their article, the researchers demonstrated the tool's ability to identify functional zones in a range of spatial transcriptomics2 data comprising heart tissue sections, several tumor tissue sections and a complete mouse embryo, which MULTILAYER was able to stratify into regions corresponding perfectly to known anatomical structures.
MULTILAYER will be particularly useful for the development of molecular diagnostics solutions.
1 : The SysFate laboratory, directed by Marco Mendoza, was made possible by Genopole's Atige program.
2 : Spatial transcriptomics describes a series of methods combining
histology, DNA microarrays and RNA capture techniques to create 2D maps of gene
expression at organ levels..
The objective of the Genopole Thematic Actions Incentives is to contribute to the emergence of tomorrow's scientific leaders by giving tenured researchers the means to create a scientific team within a research unit already present at Genopole. This latter makes a yearly call for Atige candidates and the program's laureates are chosen by an independent scientific committee. Atige recipients benefit from €250,000 in funding over three years (expenses and managerial costs included) and have the possibility of hiring lab assistants (fixed-term contracts), PhD students or postdocs to establish a team. The 2017 Atige was granted to Marco Mendoza for the creation of a systems biology team within the UMR 8030 Genomics Metabolics unit.