A comprehensive co-expression network analysis in Vibrio cholerae

Research into the evolution and pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae has benefited greatly from the generation of high throughput sequencing data to drive molecular analyses. The steady accumulation of these datasets now provides a unique opportunity for in silico hypothesis generation via co-expression analysis. Here we leverage all published V. cholerae RNA-sequencing data, in combination with select data from other platforms, to generate a gene co-expression network that validates known gene interactions and identifies novel genetic partners across the entire V. cholerae genome. This network provides direct insights into genes influencing pathogenicity, metabolism, and transcriptional regulation, further clarifies results from previous sequencing experiments in V. cholerae (e.g. Tn-seq and ChIP-seq), and expands upon micro-array based findings in related gram-negative bacteria. ImportanceCholera is a devastating illness that kills tens of thousands of people annually. Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, is an important model organism to investigate both bacterial pathogenesis and the impact of horizontal gene transfer on the emergence and dissemination of new virulent strains. Despite this importance, roughly one third of V. cholerae genes are functionally un-annotated, leaving large gaps in our understanding of this microbe. Through co-expression network analysis of existing RNA-sequencing data, this work develops an approach to uncover novel gene-gene relationships and contextualize genes with no known function, which will advance our understanding of V. cholerae virulence and evolution.