CyNetworkBMA: a Cytoscape app for inferring gene regulatory networks

BACKGROUND: Inference of gene networks from expression data is an important problem in computational biology. Many algorithms have been proposed for solving the problem efficiently. However, many of the available implementations are programming libraries that require users to write code, which limits their accessibility. RESULTS: We have developed a tool called CyNetworkBMA for inferring gene networks from expression data that integrates with Cytoscape. Our application offers a graphical user interface for networkBMA, an efficient implementation of Bayesian Model Averaging methods for network construction. The client-server architecture of CyNetworkBMA makes it possible to distribute or centralize computation depending on user needs. CONCLUSIONS: CyNetworkBMA is an easy-to-use tool that makes network inference accessible to non-programmers through seamless integration with Cytoscape. CyNetworkBMA is available on the Cytoscape App Store at http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/cynetworkbma. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13029-015-0043-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.