Local statistics allow quantification of cell-to-cell variability from high-throughput microscope images.
BACKGROUND
Quantifying variability in protein expression is a major goal of systems biology and cell-to-cell variability in subcellular localization pattern has not been systematically quantified.


RESULTS
We define a local measure to quantify cell-to-cell variability in high-throughput microscope images and show that it allows comparable measures of variability for proteins with diverse subcellular localizations. We systematically estimate cell-to-cell variability in the yeast GFP collection and identify examples of proteins that show cell-to-cell variability in their subcellular localization.


CONCLUSIONS
Automated image analysis methods can be used to quantify cell-to-cell variability in microscope images.
Department of Computer Science, Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
Louis-François
LF
Handfield
Department of Computer Science, Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
Bob
B
Strome
Department of Computer Science, Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
Yolanda T
YT
Chong
Department of Computer Science, Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada Department of Computer Science, Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
Alan M
AM
Moses
D019070:Cell Lineage; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins