PUBLICATION

Cross-species analysis of enhancer logic using deep learning

Authors
Minnoye, L., Taskiran, I.I., Mauduit, D., Fazio, M., Van Aerschot, L., Hulselmans, G., Christiaens, V., Makhzami, S., Seltenhammer, M., Karras, P., Primot, A., Cadieu, E., van Rooijen, E., Marine, J.C., Egidy, G., Ghanem, G.E., Zon, L., Wouters, J., Aerts, S.
ID
ZDB-PUB-211105-10
Date
2020
Source
Genome research   30: 1815-1834 (Journal)
Registered Authors
van Rooijen, Ellen, Zon, Leonard I.
Keywords
none
Datasets
GEO:GSE142238
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Computational Biology/methods*
  • Deep Learning
  • Dogs
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Melanoma/genetics*
  • Mice
  • Swine
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
PubMed
32732264 Full text @ Genome Res.
Abstract
Deciphering the genomic regulatory code of enhancers is a key challenge in biology because this code underlies cellular identity. A better understanding of how enhancers work will improve the interpretation of noncoding genome variation and empower the generation of cell type-specific drivers for gene therapy. Here, we explore the combination of deep learning and cross-species chromatin accessibility profiling to build explainable enhancer models. We apply this strategy to decipher the enhancer code in melanoma, a relevant case study owing to the presence of distinct melanoma cell states. We trained and validated a deep learning model, called DeepMEL, using chromatin accessibility data of 26 melanoma samples across six different species. We show the accuracy of DeepMEL predictions on the CAGI5 challenge, where it significantly outperforms existing models on the melanoma enhancer of IRF4 Next, we exploit DeepMEL to analyze enhancer architectures and identify accurate transcription factor binding sites for the core regulatory complexes in the two different melanoma states, with distinct roles for each transcription factor, in terms of nucleosome displacement or enhancer activation. Finally, DeepMEL identifies orthologous enhancers across distantly related species, where sequence alignment fails, and the model highlights specific nucleotide substitutions that underlie enhancer turnover. DeepMEL can be used from the Kipoi database to predict and optimize candidate enhancers and to prioritize enhancer mutations. In addition, our computational strategy can be applied to other cancer or normal cell types.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping