Deep Collection of Quantitative Nuclear Division Dynamics Data in RNAi-treated Caenorhabditis elegans Embryos

Recent advances in bioimage informatics techniques have yielded quantitative data on multicellular dynamics from microscopy images of animal development. Several such data collections have been created for Caenorhabditis elegans embryos under various gene silencing conditions. However, because of the limited depth of the datasets, it is impractical to apply standard statistical methods to these collections. Here, we created a deep collection of quantitative data on nuclear division dynamics during the first three rounds of cell division in C. elegans embryos, in which 263 essential embryonic genes were silenced individually by RNA-mediated interference. The collection consists of datasets from 33 wild-type and 1142 RNAi-treated embryos, including five or more datasets for 189 genes. Application of a two-sample t-test identified 8660 reproducible RNAi-induced phenotypes for 421 phenotypic characters. Clustering analysis suggested 24 functional processes essential for early embryogenesis. Our collection is a rich resource for understanding animal development mechanisms. In BriefKyoda et al. used bioimage informatics techniques to create a deep collection of quantitative data on nuclear division dynamics in RNAi-treated C. elegans embryos for 263 essential embryonic genes. Statistical analysis identified 8660 reproducible RNAi phenotypes for 421 phenotypic characters. The collection is a rich resource for understanding animal development. HighlightsO_LIBioimage informatics quantified nuclear division dynamics in C. elegans embryos C_LIO_LIFrom RNAi-silenced embryos we collected 1142 data sets on 263 essential genes C_LIO_LIStatistical analysis identified 8660 reproducible RNAi phenotypes C_LIO_LIClustering analysis suggested 24 functional processes in C. elegans embryogenesis C_LI