DiffDomain enables identification of structurally reorganized topologically associating domains

Abstract

Topologically associating domains (TADs) are critical structural units in three-dimensional genome organization of mammalian genome. Dynamic reorganizations of TADs between health and disease states are associated with essential genome functions. However, computational methods for identifying reorganized TADs are still in the early stages of development. Here, we present DiffDomain, an algorithm leveraging high-dimensional random matrix theory to identify structurally reorganized TADs using high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi–C) contact maps. Method comparison using multiple real Hi–C datasets reveals that DiffDomain outperforms alternative methods for false positive rates, true positive rates, and identifying a new subtype of reorganized TADs. Applying DiffDomain to Hi–C data from different cell types and disease states demonstrates its biological relevance. Identified reorganized TADs are associated with structural variations and epigenomic changes such as changes in CTCF binding sites. By applying to a single-cell Hi–C data from mouse neuronal development, DiffDomain can identify reorganized TADs between cell types with reasonable reproducibility using pseudo-bulk Hi–C data from as few as 100 cells per condition. Moreover, DiffDomain reveals differential cell-to-population variability and heterogeneous cell-to-cell variability in TADs. Therefore, DiffDomain is a statistically sound method for better comparative analysis of TADs using both Hi–C and single-cell Hi–C data.