RNAModR: Functional analysis of mRNA modifications in R

Abstract

Motivation: Research in the emerging field of epitranscriptomics is increasingly generating comprehensive maps of chemical modifications in messenger RNAs (mRNAs). A computational framework allowing a reproducible and standardised analysis of these mRNA modification data is missing, but will be crucial for reliable functional meta-gene analyses and cross-study comparisons. Results: We have developed RNAModR, an open-source and R-based set of methods, to analyse and visualise the transcriptome-wide distribution of mRNA modifications. RNAModR allows the statistical evaluation of the mRNA modification site distribution relative to null sites on a meta-gene level, providing insight into the functional role of these mRNA modifications on e.g. mRNA structure and stability. Availability and implementation: RNAModR is available under the GNU General Public License (GPL) as an R-package from https://github.com/mevers/RNAModR