EasyPubPlot: a shiny web application for rapid omics data exploration and visualization

Abstract

Computational toolkits for data exploration and visualization from widely used omics platforms often lack flexibility and customization. While many tools generate standardized output, advanced programming skills are necessary to create high-quality visualizations. Therefore, user-friendly tools that simplify this crucial yet time-consuming step are essential. We developed EasyPubPlot (Easy Publishable Plotting), a straightforward, easy-to-use, user experience-oriented, open-source, and shiny web application along with its associated R package to streamline data exploration and visualization for functional omics-empowered research. EasyPubPlot generates publishable scores plots, volcano plots, heatmaps, box plots, dot plots, and bubble plots with minimal necessary steps. The tool was designed to guide new users for accurate and efficient navigation. Step-by-step tutorials for each type of plot are also provided. Herein, we demonstrated EasyPubPlots competent functionality and versatility by showcasing metabolomics and transcriptomics data. Collectively, EasyPubPlot reduces the gap between data analysis and stunning visualization, thereby diminishing friction and focusing on science. The app can be downloaded and installed locally (https://github.com/Pharmaco-OmicsLab/EasyPubPlot) or used through a web application (https://pharmaco-omicslab.shinyapps.io/EasyPubPlot).