NGS Tool Kit
An interactive RNA-Seq analysis platform for exploring gene expression and biological insights
What does this app do?
Overview
NGS Tool Kit is an end-to-end RNA-Seq analysis dashboard that allows users to perform differential gene expression analysis, visualize high-dimensional data, and explore gene-level patterns interactively.
- Differential Expression Analysis (DESeq2)
- Dimensionality Reduction (PCA, t-SNE, UMAP)
- Gene-level exploration and visualization
- Clustering and correlation analysis
- Interactive plots and downloadable results
- Interactive genome exploration using JBrowse
Required Inputs
- Count Matrix: Genes as rows, samples as columns
- Metadata: Contains sample and condition information
- Optional: Upload custom datasets for visualization modules
Step-by-Step Workflow
- Upload count matrix and metadata
- Perform Data Quality Control (QC)
- Run Differential Expression (DE) analysis
- Visualize results using MA and Volcano plots
- Explore top genes and gene expression
- Apply PCA, t-SNE, or UMAP for clustering
- Analyze patterns using heatmaps and correlation
Overall Workflow
The analysis pipeline follows a structured flow from raw data to biological interpretation:
Project Team & Contacts
Development & Research Team
About Quality Control
What does this module do?
Performs quality control checks on RNA-Seq count data, including distribution analysis, library size comparison, PCA visualization, and outlier detection.
Required Inputs
- Count matrix (genes × samples)
- First column: gene names
- Remaining columns: numeric counts
How to use
- Upload count matrix CSV
- Check distribution (boxplot)
- Compare library sizes
- Inspect PCA clustering
- Identify outlier samples
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Quality Control
Download Results
About Differential Expression
What does this module do?
Runs DESeq2 on count data with flexible metadata handling.
Required Inputs
- Count matrix (CSV )
- Metadata (any column names)
How to use
- Upload counts + metadata
- Select sample & condition columns
- Click Run
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
DESeq2 Analysis
About MA Plot
What does this module do?
Displays log fold change vs mean expression to assess differential expression patterns.
Required Inputs
- DE results with log2FoldChange and padj
- Optional: baseMean column
- Optional uploaded CSV
How to use
- Run DE Analysis or upload DE results
- Set thresholds (padj and log2FC)
- Click 'Generate MA Plot'
- Interpret up/down regulated genes
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
MA Plot
About PCA Analysis
What does this module do?
Performs Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to visualize variation between samples.
Required Inputs
- Normalized expression data (VST)
- Optional uploaded expression matrix
How to use
- Upload dataset OR run DE Analysis
- Enable metadata coloring (optional)
- Click 'Run PCA'
- Interpret clustering patterns
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
PCA Analysis
About Heatmap
What does this module do?
Visualizes gene expression patterns across samples.
Required Inputs
- Normalized expression data (VST)
- Optional uploaded CSV
How to use
- Upload dataset OR run DE Analysis
- Select number of top variable genes
- Enable scaling
- Click 'Generate Heatmap'
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Heatmap
About Correlation Analysis
What does this module do?
Calculates similarity between samples using correlation metrics.
Required Inputs
- Expression Matrix (CSV) or normalized expression matrix generated from DE Analysis
- Optional uploaded dataset
How to use
- Upload dataset OR run DE Analysis
- Select correlation method
- Click 'Generate Correlation'
- Interpret similarity between samples
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Correlation Analysis
Spearmans: Best for ranked or non-normal data and is less affected by outliers.
Kendall: Best for small datasets or data with many tied values.
Download Results
About Volcano Plot
What does this module do?
Displays differential expression results by plotting fold change against statistical significance.
Required Inputs
- DESeq2 results (log2FoldChange & padj)
- Optional uploaded dataset
How to use
- Run DE Analysis
- Adjust thresholds
- Click 'Generate Plot'
- Interpret significant genes
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Volcano Plot
About t-SNE
What does this module do?
t-SNE visualizes similarity between samples using dimensionality reduction.
Required Inputs
- Normalized data (VST) OR expression matrix
- Genes × Samples format
Steps
- Upload dataset OR run DE
- Set perplexity
- Click Run t-SNE
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
t-SNE Analysis
About UMAP
What does this module do?
UMAP reduces high-dimensional data to visualize sample similarity.
How to use
- Upload expression matrix OR use uploaded dataset
- Ensure first column = gene names
- Click 'Run UMAP'
- Wait for result (few seconds)
Sample Dataset
UMAP Analysis
About Gene Expression Viewer
What does this module do?
Visualizes expression levels of one or more genes across samples. Useful for comparing expression patterns between conditions.
Required Inputs
- Normalized expression data (VST) from DESeq2 OR
- User-uploaded expression matrix (genes × samples)
- Optional metadata with 'condition' column for coloring
How to use
- Upload your expression matrix (optional)
- OR run DE Analysis to use normalized data
- Search and select one or more genes
- Enable 'Color by condition' if metadata is available
- Click 'Plot Expression'
- Download the plot if needed
Input Format Example
Gene,Sample1,Sample2,Sample3 GeneA,120,130,300 GeneB,50,60,20
Output
- Boxplot of gene expression across samples
- Multiple genes shown side-by-side
- Optional coloring by condition
- Downloadable plot
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Gene Expression Viewer
About Top Genes
What does this module do?
Displays the most significant differentially expressed genes based on fold change and adjusted p-value.
Required Inputs
- DESeq2 results OR uploaded CSV file
- Columns required: log2FoldChange and padj
How to use
- Run DE Analysis OR upload file
- Set thresholds
- Click 'Show Top Genes'
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Top Differentially Expressed Genes
Results
Download ResultsAbout Clustering
What does this module do?
Groups samples based on expression similarity using hierarchical clustering or k-means.
Required Inputs
- Normalized expression matrix (VST) or uploaded CSV
- Genes × Samples format
How to use
- Upload data or run DE Analysis
- Choose clustering method
- Set number of clusters (for k-means)
- Click 'Run Clustering'
Sample Dataset
Sample Output
Clustering
Genome Browser
Overview
The Genome Browser module enables interactive exploration of genomes and annotations using JBrowse.
Supported Input
- Reference Genome : FASTA (.fa, .fasta, .fna)
- Annotation : GFF3 (.gff, .gff3)
Workflow
- Upload a FASTA file.
- Upload a GFF3 annotation.
- Click 'Load Genome'.
- Wait while genome files are prepared.
- Browse your genome interactively.