Build weighted gene co-expression networks to identify modules of co-regulated genes and relate them to phenotypes using WGCNA and CEMiTool. Detects hub genes and module-trait relationships from bulk or single-cell expression data. Use when finding co-expression modules, identifying hub genes, or relating gene networks to clinical or experimental variables.
npx skills add https://github.com/BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill bio-gene-regulatory-networks-coexpression-networks
Reference examples tested with: WGCNA 1.72+, CEMiTool 1.26+
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"Find co-expression modules and hub genes from my RNA-seq data" → Build a weighted gene co-expression network, detect modules of co-regulated genes via hierarchical clustering, and correlate modules with sample traits to identify hub genes.
WGCNA::blockwiseModules() for network construction and module detectionCEMiTool::cemitool() for automated co-expression analysisBuild weighted gene co-expression networks to identify modules of co-regulated genes and relate them to sample traits.
library(WGCNA)
options(stringsAsFactors = FALSE)
allowWGCNAThreads()
# Expression matrix: genes as columns, samples as rows (WGCNA convention)
expr_data <- read.csv('normalized_counts.csv', row.names = 1)
expr_data <- t(expr_data) # transpose if genes are rows
# Filter low-variance genes
gene_vars <- apply(expr_data, 2, var)
expr_data <- expr_data[, gene_vars > quantile(gene_vars, 0.25)]
# Check for outlier samples
sample_tree <- hclust(dist(expr_data), method = 'average')
plot(sample_tree, main = 'Sample dendrogram')
powers <- c(1:20)
sft <- pickSoftThreshold(expr_data, powerVector = powers, verbose = 5)
# Plot scale-free topology fit
# R^2 > 0.85 is the default target; acceptable range is 0.8-0.9
# Higher R^2 means better scale-free fit; if no power reaches 0.85,
# use the power where R^2 plateaus (but should be >= 0.80)
par(mfrow = c(1, 2))
plot(sft$fitIndices[, 1], -sign(sft$fitIndices[, 3]) * sft$fitIndices[, 2],
xlab = 'Soft Threshold (power)', ylab = 'Scale Free Topology R^2',
main = 'Scale independence')
abline(h = 0.85, col = 'red')
plot(sft$fitIndices[, 1], sft$fitIndices[, 5],
xlab = 'Soft Threshold (power)', ylab = 'Mean Connectivity',
main = 'Mean connectivity')
soft_power <- sft$powerEstimate
net <- blockwiseModules(
expr_data, power = soft_power,
TOMType = 'unsigned', minModuleSize = 30,
reassignThreshold = 0, mergeCutHeight = 0.25,
numericLabels = TRUE, pamRespectsDendro = FALSE,
saveTOMs = TRUE, saveTOMFileBase = 'TOM',
verbose = 3
)
module_colors <- labels2colors(net$colors)
table(module_colors)
plotDendroAndColors(net$dendrograms[[1]], module_colors[net$blockGenes[[1]]],
'Module colors', dendroLabels = FALSE, hang = 0.03,
addGuide = TRUE, guideHang = 0.05)
# Module eigengenes (first PC of each module)
MEs <- net$MEs
MEs <- orderMEs(MEs)
# Trait data (samples as rows, traits as columns)
traits <- read.csv('sample_traits.csv', row.names = 1)
# Correlate eigengenes with traits
module_trait_cor <- cor(MEs, traits, use = 'p')
module_trait_pval <- corPvalueStudent(module_trait_cor, nrow(expr_data))
# Heatmap of module-trait correlations
textMatrix <- paste(signif(module_trait_cor, 2), '\n(',
signif(module_trait_pval, 1), ')', sep = '')
dim(textMatrix) <- dim(module_trait_cor)
labeledHeatmap(Matrix = module_trait_cor,
xLabels = colnames(traits), yLabels = names(MEs),
ySymbols = names(MEs), colorLabels = FALSE,
colors = blueWhiteRed(50), textMatrix = textMatrix,
setStdMargins = FALSE, cex.text = 0.5,
main = 'Module-trait relationships')
Goal: Identify the most influential genes within a co-expression module by combining module membership with trait association.
Approach: Correlate each gene's expression with its module eigengene (module membership) and with the trait of interest (gene significance), then select genes exceeding both thresholds; additionally rank by intramodular connectivity (kWithin).
# Gene module membership (correlation with module eigengene)
module_of_interest <- 'turquoise'
module_genes <- colnames(expr_data)[module_colors == module_of_interest]
gene_module_membership <- cor(expr_data, MEs, use = 'p')
gene_trait_significance <- cor(expr_data, traits$phenotype, use = 'p')
# Hub genes: high module membership AND high trait significance
hub_threshold_mm <- 0.8 # module membership cutoff
hub_threshold_gs <- 0.2 # gene significance cutoff
hub_genes <- module_genes[
abs(gene_module_membership[module_genes, paste0('ME', module_of_interest)]) > hub_threshold_mm &
abs(gene_trait_significance[module_genes, 1]) > hub_threshold_gs
]
# Intramodular connectivity (kWithin)
connectivity <- intramodularConnectivity(
adjacency(expr_data, power = soft_power),
module_colors
)
top_hubs <- connectivity[module_genes, ] %>%
dplyr::arrange(desc(kWithin)) %>%
head(20)
Goal: Export a co-expression module as an edge/node list for interactive network visualization in Cytoscape.
Approach: Recompute the TOM (Topological Overlap Matrix) for the module of interest, threshold weak connections, and export as Cytoscape-compatible edge and node files.
# Export top connections for network visualization
TOM <- TOMsimilarityFromExpr(expr_data, power = soft_power)
dimnames(TOM) <- list(colnames(expr_data), colnames(expr_data))
module_genes <- colnames(expr_data)[module_colors == module_of_interest]
module_TOM <- TOM[module_genes, module_genes]
cyt <- exportNetworkToCytoscape(module_TOM, edgeFile = 'edges.txt',
nodeFile = 'nodes.txt',
weighted = TRUE, threshold = 0.02)
library(CEMiTool)
# CEMiTool automates soft-threshold selection and module detection
expr_matrix <- read.csv('normalized_counts.csv', row.names = 1)
sample_annot <- read.csv('sample_annotation.csv')
cem <- cemitool(expr_matrix, sample_annot, filter = TRUE, plot = TRUE, verbose = TRUE)
# Results
nmodules(cem)
module_genes <- module_genes(cem)
generate_report(cem, directory = 'cemitool_report')
# Enrichment with gene sets (optional)
gene_sets <- read_gmt('pathways.gmt')
cem <- mod_ora(cem, gene_sets)
cem <- plot_ora(cem)
library(hdWGCNA)
library(Seurat)
seurat_obj <- readRDS('clustered.rds')
seurat_obj <- SetupForWGCNA(seurat_obj, gene_select = 'fraction',
fraction = 0.05, wgcna_name = 'hdwgcna')
# Metacells to reduce sparsity (groups of 25-50 cells)
seurat_obj <- MetacellsByGroups(seurat_obj, group.by = c('seurat_clusters'),
k = 25, max_shared = 10, ident.group = 'seurat_clusters')
seurat_obj <- NormalizeMetacells(seurat_obj)
# Standard WGCNA on metacells
seurat_obj <- SetDatExpr(seurat_obj, group.by = 'seurat_clusters', group_name = 'all')
seurat_obj <- TestSoftPowers(seurat_obj)
seurat_obj <- ConstructNetwork(seurat_obj, soft_power = 6, setDatExpr = FALSE)
seurat_obj <- ModuleEigengenes(seurat_obj)
seurat_obj <- ModuleConnectivity(seurat_obj)
# Visualize on UMAP
seurat_obj <- RunModuleUMAP(seurat_obj, n_hubs = 10, n_neighbors = 15, min_dist = 0.1)
ModuleFeaturePlot(seurat_obj, features = 'hMEs')
import PyWGCNA
pywgcna = PyWGCNA.WGCNA(name='analysis', species='homo sapiens',
geneExp='normalized_counts.csv', outputPath='pywgcna_output/')
pywgcna.preprocess()
pywgcna.findModules()
pywgcna.updateSampleInfo(path='sample_traits.csv')
pywgcna.analyseWGCNA()
| Consideration | Guideline | Rationale |
|---------------|-----------|-----------|
| Minimum samples | 20 recommended, 15 absolute floor | Correlation stability; below 15, module detection is unreliable |
| Scale-free R^2 | > 0.85 default (0.80-0.90 acceptable) | Ensures biological network topology |
| Min module size | 30 genes | Smaller modules are often noise |
| Merge cut height | 0.25 | Merges modules with >75% eigengene correlation |
| Gene filtering | Top 5000-10000 most variable | Reduces noise, speeds computation |
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