WellReader: a MATLAB program for the analysis of fluorescence and luminescence reporter gene data

Motivation: Fluorescent and luminescent reporter gene systems in combination with automated microplate readers allow real-time monitoring of gene expression on the population level at high precision and sampling density. This generates large amounts of data for the analysis of which computer tools are missing to date. Results: We have developed WellReader, a MATLAB program for the analysis of fluorescent and luminescent reporter gene data. WellReader allows the user to load the output files of microplate readers, remove outliers, correct for background effects and smooth and fit the data. Moreover, it computes biologically relevant quantities from the measured signals, notably promoter activities and protein concentrations, and compares the resulting expression profiles of different genes under different conditions. Availability: WellReader is available under a LGPL licence at http://prabi1.inrialpes.fr/trac/wellreader. Contact: hidde.de-jong@inria.fr Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.