Abstract A10: CRISPR-AnalyzeR (caR): Web-based, interactive and exploratory analysis and documentation of pooled CRISPR/Cas9 screens

Abstract

Abstract Since the availability of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technique, pooled CRISPR/Cas9 screens have become a powerful and versatile tool for the investigation of functional genomics in a variety of organisms. Pooled CRISPR/Cas9 screens are cost-effective and do not require lab automation, which allows even small labs to perform genome-wide genetic perturbation screens. The analysis of such screens so far requires in-depth knowledge in either bioinformatics or data analysis as there is a limited availability of end-to-end data analysis pipelines (Li et al., 2014; Winter et al., 2015). Moreover, the explorative analysis of screening data using end-to-end analysis tools often comes with certain limitations. Either these pipelines require sufficient computing power on the user machine or have to be run in command-line mode on dedicated machines, which constrains the usability. A special need for wet-lab scientists is the availability of analysis pipelines which allow them to analyze the screening data on their own, knowing best about potential candidates and the biological background. Here we describe the CRISPR-AnalyzeR (caR), which is a web-based and fully-interactive tool to analyze pooled CRISPR/Cas9 screens meant for wet-lab scientists. caR combines both, end-to-end data analysis and explorative screen analysis that can be accessed via a regular web-browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox from any device - allowing the user to analyze the data in a comfortable, convenient and exploratory way. Moreover, caR uses latest visualization technologies to provide interactive plots and tables, allowing even novice users to analyze their own screens in an exploratory way. caR performs hit-calling using six different analysis methods, which gives the user the power and flexibility to select appropriate follow-up candidates. caR provides an easy-to-follow workflow and guides the user through the whole analysis process, which includes quality control, hit calling, in-depth gene information, data annotation enrichment and downloadable interactive reports to provide a comprehensive documentation. Since caR is a web-based tool, it can be used via a provided web-server at http://crispr-analyzer.dkfz.de or can be downloaded for a local network installation. Citation Format: Jan Winter, Marc Schwering, Benedikt Rauscher, Florian Heigwer, Michael Boutros. CRISPR-AnalyzeR (caR): Web-based, interactive and exploratory analysis and documentation of pooled CRISPR/Cas9 screens [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Opportunities and Challenges of Exploiting Synthetic Lethality in Cancer; Jan 4-7, 2017; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2017;16(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A10.