Chicdiff: A computational pipeline for detecting differential chromosomal interactions in Capture Hi-C data

Abstract

Capture Hi-C is a powerful approach for detecting chromosomal interactions involving, at least on one end, DNA regions of interest, such as gene promoters. We present Chicdiff, an R package for robust detection of differential interactions in Capture Hi-C data. Chicdiff enhances a state-of-the-art differential testing approach for count data with bespoke normalization and multiple testing procedures that account for specific statistical properties of Capture Hi-C. We validate Chicdiff on published Promoter Capture Hi-C data in human Monocytes and CD4p T cells, identifying multitudes of cell type-specific interactions, and confirming the overall positive association between promoter interactions and gene expression.