FunSpec (tool)

RRID:SCR_006952

FunSpec is a web-based tool for statistical evaluation of groups of genes and proteins (e.g. co-regulated genes, protein complexes, genetic interactors) with respect to existing annotations, including GO terms. FunSpec (an acronym for Functional Specification) inputs a list of yeast gene names, and outputs a summary of functional classes, cellular localizations, protein complexes, etc. that are enriched in the list. The classes and categories evaluated were downloaded from the MIPS Database and the GO Database . In addition, many published datasets have been compiled to evaluate enrichment against. Hypertext links to the publications are given. The p-values, calculated using the hypergeometric distribution, represent the probability that the intersection of given list with any given functional category occurs by chance. The Bonferroni-correction divides the p-value threshold, that would be deemed significant for an individual test, by the number of tests conducted and thus accounts for spurious significance due to multiple testing over the categories of a database. After the Bonferroni correction, only those categories are displayed for which the chance probability of enrichment is lower than: p-value/#CD where #CD is the number of categories in the selected database. Without the Bonferroni Correction, all categories are displayed for which the same probability of enrichment is lower than: p-value threshold in an individual test Note that many genes are contained in many categories, especially in the MIPS database (which are hierarchical) and that this can create biases for which FunSpec currently makes no compensation. Also the databases are treated as independent from one another, which is really not the case, and each is searched seperately, which may not be optimal for statistical calculations. Nonetheless, we find it useful for sifting through the results of clustering analysis, TAP pulldowns, etc. Platform: Online tool