Author Spotlight: Alignment of Synchronized Time-Series Data Using the Characterizing Loss of Cell Cycle Synchrony Model for Cross-Experiment Comparisons

A major challenge of analyzing time-series experiments is that they often differ in the length of recovery from synchrony and the cell cycle period. So measurements from different experiments cannot readily be compared or analyzed in aggregate without alignment. Clocks lifeline alignment is a method for phase specific and biologically relevant comparisons between experiments and for aggregating multiple replicate experiments both of which were previously difficult or impossible.

Previously phase specific and biologically relevant comparisons were made by tracking landmark events. However, using these ad hoc methods, subtle but important differences remain undetected. Comparison between time series experiments is particularly difficult between experiments with significant differences in timing such as in mutant populations or growth conditions that affect the synchrony recovery time or the cell cycle period.

Clocks lifeline alignment allows for phase specific comparison in these cases. We have used clocks to align time series transcriptomic and proteomic data, which allowed for the direct comparison between the dynamics of the mRNA and the corresponding protein. Furthermore, we align time series experiments across different species, providing critical insights into cell cycle evolutionary changes.