MERLIN-SUITE: Probabilistic modular GRN inference from multi-omics data integrating regulatory priors and transcription factor activity

Abstract

Accurately reconstructing gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is essential for understanding transcriptional processes in development and disease. MERLIN-SUITE (https://github.com/Roy-lab/MERLIN-SUITE) represents a collection of algorithmic extensions based on MERLIN (Modular regulatory network learning with per gene information) a probabilistic framework that infers gene-specific and module-specific regulatory programs of co-regulated modules, capturing both detailed and modular aspects of transcriptional networks. While expression-based inference is effective, it often aligns poorly with experimentally validated regulatory interactions. MERLIN-P addresses this by integrating external regulatory priors, such as motif, ChIP, and perturbation data, to enhance biological relevance and predictive accuracy. MERLIN-P-TFA further advances the framework by incorporating regularized estimation of latent transcription factor activity (TFA), overcoming the limitation that TF mRNA levels may not represent protein activity. By integrating expression data, prior knowledge, and activity-aware modeling, this unified approach supports robust GRN reconstruction in both bulk and single-cell datasets. This chapter presents the MERLIN-SUITE with a focus on MERLIN-P-TFA and demonstrates its use on a single-cell, multi-modal dataset of mouse cellular reprogramming to infer GRNs and identify key regulators.