Experimental design

Last updated on 2023-05-16 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

How can one translate biological questions and comparisons to statistical terms suitable for use with RNA-seq analysis packages?

Objectives

Explain the formula notation and design matrices.
Explore different designs and learn how to interpret coefficients.

Contribute!

This episode is intended to provide a recap of the typical biological questions which would require an RNA-seq analysis approach; introduce what is an experimental design, then discuss the experimental designs in the context of the typical biological questions, interpretation of design parameters (treatmet, control, interaction, p-value, etc). It is important therfore to understand, what question to ask, which design to use, why that design, how to analysise the data and output.

R

suppressPackageStartupMessages({
    library(SummarizedExperiment)
    library(ExploreModelMatrix)
    library(dplyr)
})

R

meta <- read.csv("data/GSE96870_coldata_all.csv", row.names = 1)
meta

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545336 CNS_RNA-seq_10C    GSM2545336 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545337 CNS_RNA-seq_11C    GSM2545337 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545338 CNS_RNA-seq_12C    GSM2545338 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545339 CNS_RNA-seq_13C    GSM2545339 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545340 CNS_RNA-seq_14C    GSM2545340 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545341 CNS_RNA-seq_17C    GSM2545341 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545342  CNS_RNA-seq_1C    GSM2545342 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545343 CNS_RNA-seq_20C    GSM2545343 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545344 CNS_RNA-seq_21C    GSM2545344 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545345 CNS_RNA-seq_22C    GSM2545345 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545346 CNS_RNA-seq_25C    GSM2545346 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545347 CNS_RNA-seq_26C    GSM2545347 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545348 CNS_RNA-seq_27C    GSM2545348 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545349 CNS_RNA-seq_28C    GSM2545349 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545350 CNS_RNA-seq_29C    GSM2545350 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545351  CNS_RNA-seq_2C    GSM2545351 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545352 CNS_RNA-seq_30C    GSM2545352 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545353  CNS_RNA-seq_3C    GSM2545353 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545354  CNS_RNA-seq_4C    GSM2545354 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545355 CNS_RNA-seq_571    GSM2545355 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545356 CNS_RNA-seq_574    GSM2545356 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545357 CNS_RNA-seq_575    GSM2545357 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545359 CNS_RNA-seq_585    GSM2545359 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545360 CNS_RNA-seq_589    GSM2545360 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545361 CNS_RNA-seq_590    GSM2545361 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545362  CNS_RNA-seq_5C    GSM2545362 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545363  CNS_RNA-seq_6C    GSM2545363 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545367 CNS_RNA-seq_713    GSM2545367 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545368 CNS_RNA-seq_728    GSM2545368 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545369 CNS_RNA-seq_729    GSM2545369 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545370 CNS_RNA-seq_730    GSM2545370 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545371 CNS_RNA-seq_731    GSM2545371 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545372 CNS_RNA-seq_733    GSM2545372 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545373 CNS_RNA-seq_735    GSM2545373 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545374 CNS_RNA-seq_736    GSM2545374 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545375 CNS_RNA-seq_738    GSM2545375 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545376 CNS_RNA-seq_740    GSM2545376 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545377 CNS_RNA-seq_741    GSM2545377 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545378 CNS_RNA-seq_742    GSM2545378 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545379 CNS_RNA-seq_743    GSM2545379 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545380  CNS_RNA-seq_9C    GSM2545380 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545336  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum    14
GSM2545337 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     9
GSM2545338 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    10
GSM2545339  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    15
GSM2545340  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    18
GSM2545341  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum     6
GSM2545342  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum     5
GSM2545343 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    11
GSM2545344  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    22
GSM2545345  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    13
GSM2545346  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum    23
GSM2545347  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum    24
GSM2545348 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     8
GSM2545349 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     7
GSM2545350  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum     1
GSM2545351  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum    16
GSM2545352  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    21
GSM2545353 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     4
GSM2545354 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     2
GSM2545355  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord     1
GSM2545356 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     2
GSM2545357 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     3
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545359  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord     5
GSM2545360  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord     6
GSM2545361 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     7
GSM2545362  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    20
GSM2545363  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    12
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10
GSM2545367 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    11
GSM2545368  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    12
GSM2545369  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    13
GSM2545370  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    14
GSM2545371  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    15
GSM2545372  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    17
GSM2545373  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    18
GSM2545374  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    19
GSM2545375  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    20
GSM2545376  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    21
GSM2545377  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    22
GSM2545378  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    23
GSM2545379  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    24
GSM2545380  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day8 Cerebellum    19

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta, 
                      designFormula = ~ tissue + time + sex)
vd$cooccurrenceplots

OUTPUT

$`tissue = Cerebellum`

OUTPUT


$`tissue = Spinalcord`

Compare males and females, non-infected spinal cord

R

meta_noninf_spc <- meta %>% filter(time == "Day0" & 
                                       tissue == "Spinalcord")
meta_noninf_spc

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545356 CNS_RNA-seq_574    GSM2545356 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545357 CNS_RNA-seq_575    GSM2545357 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545361 CNS_RNA-seq_590    GSM2545361 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545367 CNS_RNA-seq_713    GSM2545367 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545356 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     2
GSM2545357 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     3
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545361 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     7
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10
GSM2545367 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    11

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_noninf_spc, 
                      designFormula = ~ sex)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) sexMale
GSM2545356           1       1
GSM2545357           1       1
GSM2545358           1       0
GSM2545361           1       1
GSM2545364           1       0
GSM2545365           1       0
GSM2545366           1       0
GSM2545367           1       1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

[[1]]

Challenge: Can you do it?

Set up the design formula to compare the three time points (Day0, Day4, Day8) in the male spinal cord samples, and visualize it using ExploreModelMatrix.

Show me the solution

R

meta_male_spc <- meta %>% filter(sex == "Male" & tissue == "Spinalcord")
meta_male_spc

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age  sex   infection
GSM2545355 CNS_RNA-seq_571    GSM2545355 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545356 CNS_RNA-seq_574    GSM2545356 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male NonInfected
GSM2545357 CNS_RNA-seq_575    GSM2545357 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male NonInfected
GSM2545360 CNS_RNA-seq_589    GSM2545360 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545361 CNS_RNA-seq_590    GSM2545361 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male NonInfected
GSM2545367 CNS_RNA-seq_713    GSM2545367 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male NonInfected
GSM2545368 CNS_RNA-seq_728    GSM2545368 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545369 CNS_RNA-seq_729    GSM2545369 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545372 CNS_RNA-seq_733    GSM2545372 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545373 CNS_RNA-seq_735    GSM2545373 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545378 CNS_RNA-seq_742    GSM2545378 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
GSM2545379 CNS_RNA-seq_743    GSM2545379 Mus musculus 8 weeks Male  InfluenzaA
            strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545355 C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord     1
GSM2545356 C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     2
GSM2545357 C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     3
GSM2545360 C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord     6
GSM2545361 C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     7
GSM2545367 C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    11
GSM2545368 C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    12
GSM2545369 C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    13
GSM2545372 C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    17
GSM2545373 C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    18
GSM2545378 C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    23
GSM2545379 C57BL/6 Day8 Spinalcord    24

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_male_spc, designFormula = ~ time)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) timeDay4 timeDay8
GSM2545355           1        1        0
GSM2545356           1        0        0
GSM2545357           1        0        0
GSM2545360           1        0        1
GSM2545361           1        0        0
GSM2545367           1        0        0
GSM2545368           1        1        0
GSM2545369           1        1        0
GSM2545372           1        0        1
GSM2545373           1        1        0
GSM2545378           1        0        1
GSM2545379           1        0        1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

[[1]]

Factorial design without interactions

R

meta_noninf <- meta %>% filter(time == "Day0")
meta_noninf

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545337 CNS_RNA-seq_11C    GSM2545337 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545338 CNS_RNA-seq_12C    GSM2545338 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545343 CNS_RNA-seq_20C    GSM2545343 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545348 CNS_RNA-seq_27C    GSM2545348 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545349 CNS_RNA-seq_28C    GSM2545349 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545353  CNS_RNA-seq_3C    GSM2545353 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545354  CNS_RNA-seq_4C    GSM2545354 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545356 CNS_RNA-seq_574    GSM2545356 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545357 CNS_RNA-seq_575    GSM2545357 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545361 CNS_RNA-seq_590    GSM2545361 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545367 CNS_RNA-seq_713    GSM2545367 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545337 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     9
GSM2545338 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    10
GSM2545343 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    11
GSM2545348 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     8
GSM2545349 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     7
GSM2545353 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     4
GSM2545354 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     2
GSM2545356 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     2
GSM2545357 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     3
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545361 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     7
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10
GSM2545367 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    11

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_noninf, 
                      designFormula = ~ sex + tissue)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) sexMale tissueSpinalcord
GSM2545337           1       0                0
GSM2545338           1       0                0
GSM2545343           1       1                0
GSM2545348           1       0                0
GSM2545349           1       1                0
GSM2545353           1       0                0
GSM2545354           1       1                0
GSM2545356           1       1                1
GSM2545357           1       1                1
GSM2545358           1       0                1
GSM2545361           1       1                1
GSM2545364           1       0                1
GSM2545365           1       0                1
GSM2545366           1       0                1
GSM2545367           1       1                1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

[[1]]

Factorial design with interactions

R

meta_noninf <- meta %>% filter(time == "Day0")
meta_noninf

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545337 CNS_RNA-seq_11C    GSM2545337 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545338 CNS_RNA-seq_12C    GSM2545338 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545343 CNS_RNA-seq_20C    GSM2545343 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545348 CNS_RNA-seq_27C    GSM2545348 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545349 CNS_RNA-seq_28C    GSM2545349 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545353  CNS_RNA-seq_3C    GSM2545353 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545354  CNS_RNA-seq_4C    GSM2545354 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545356 CNS_RNA-seq_574    GSM2545356 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545357 CNS_RNA-seq_575    GSM2545357 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545361 CNS_RNA-seq_590    GSM2545361 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545367 CNS_RNA-seq_713    GSM2545367 Mus musculus 8 weeks   Male
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545337 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     9
GSM2545338 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    10
GSM2545343 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    11
GSM2545348 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     8
GSM2545349 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     7
GSM2545353 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     4
GSM2545354 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     2
GSM2545356 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     2
GSM2545357 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     3
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545361 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     7
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10
GSM2545367 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    11

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_noninf, 
                      designFormula = ~ sex * tissue)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) sexMale tissueSpinalcord sexMale:tissueSpinalcord
GSM2545337           1       0                0                        0
GSM2545338           1       0                0                        0
GSM2545343           1       1                0                        0
GSM2545348           1       0                0                        0
GSM2545349           1       1                0                        0
GSM2545353           1       0                0                        0
GSM2545354           1       1                0                        0
GSM2545356           1       1                1                        1
GSM2545357           1       1                1                        1
GSM2545358           1       0                1                        0
GSM2545361           1       1                1                        1
GSM2545364           1       0                1                        0
GSM2545365           1       0                1                        0
GSM2545366           1       0                1                        0
GSM2545367           1       1                1                        1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

[[1]]

Paired design

R

meta_fem_day0 <- meta %>% filter(sex == "Female" & 
                                     time == "Day0")

# ensure that mouse is treated as a categorical variable
meta_fem_day0$mouse <- factor(meta_fem_day0$mouse)

meta_fem_day0

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545337 CNS_RNA-seq_11C    GSM2545337 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545338 CNS_RNA-seq_12C    GSM2545338 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545348 CNS_RNA-seq_27C    GSM2545348 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545353  CNS_RNA-seq_3C    GSM2545353 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545337 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     9
GSM2545338 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    10
GSM2545348 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     8
GSM2545353 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     4
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_fem_day0,
                      designFormula = ~ mouse + tissue)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) mouse8 mouse9 mouse10 tissueSpinalcord
GSM2545337           1      0      1       0                0
GSM2545338           1      0      0       1                0
GSM2545348           1      1      0       0                0
GSM2545353           1      0      0       0                0
GSM2545358           1      0      0       0                1
GSM2545364           1      1      0       0                1
GSM2545365           1      0      1       0                1
GSM2545366           1      0      0       1                1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

[[1]]

Within- and between-subject comparisons

R

meta_fem_day04 <- meta %>% 
    filter(sex == "Female" & 
               time %in% c("Day0", "Day4")) %>%
    droplevels()
meta_fem_day04

OUTPUT

                     title geo_accession     organism     age    sex
GSM2545337 CNS_RNA-seq_11C    GSM2545337 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545338 CNS_RNA-seq_12C    GSM2545338 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545339 CNS_RNA-seq_13C    GSM2545339 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545344 CNS_RNA-seq_21C    GSM2545344 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545348 CNS_RNA-seq_27C    GSM2545348 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545352 CNS_RNA-seq_30C    GSM2545352 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545353  CNS_RNA-seq_3C    GSM2545353 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545358 CNS_RNA-seq_583    GSM2545358 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545362  CNS_RNA-seq_5C    GSM2545362 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545364 CNS_RNA-seq_709    GSM2545364 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545365 CNS_RNA-seq_710    GSM2545365 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545366 CNS_RNA-seq_711    GSM2545366 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545371 CNS_RNA-seq_731    GSM2545371 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545375 CNS_RNA-seq_738    GSM2545375 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545376 CNS_RNA-seq_740    GSM2545376 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
GSM2545377 CNS_RNA-seq_741    GSM2545377 Mus musculus 8 weeks Female
             infection  strain time     tissue mouse
GSM2545337 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     9
GSM2545338 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum    10
GSM2545339  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    15
GSM2545344  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    22
GSM2545348 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     8
GSM2545352  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    21
GSM2545353 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Cerebellum     4
GSM2545358 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     4
GSM2545362  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Cerebellum    20
GSM2545364 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     8
GSM2545365 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord     9
GSM2545366 NonInfected C57BL/6 Day0 Spinalcord    10
GSM2545371  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    15
GSM2545375  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    20
GSM2545376  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    21
GSM2545377  InfluenzaA C57BL/6 Day4 Spinalcord    22

R

design <- model.matrix(~ mouse, data = meta_fem_day04)
design <- cbind(design, 
                Spc.Day0 = meta_fem_day04$tissue == "Spinalcord" & 
                    meta_fem_day04$time == "Day0",
                Spc.Day4 = meta_fem_day04$tissue == "Spinalcord" & 
                    meta_fem_day04$time == "Day4")
rownames(design) <- rownames(meta_fem_day04)
design

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) mouse Spc.Day0 Spc.Day4
GSM2545337           1     9        0        0
GSM2545338           1    10        0        0
GSM2545339           1    15        0        0
GSM2545344           1    22        0        0
GSM2545348           1     8        0        0
GSM2545352           1    21        0        0
GSM2545353           1     4        0        0
GSM2545358           1     4        1        0
GSM2545362           1    20        0        0
GSM2545364           1     8        1        0
GSM2545365           1     9        1        0
GSM2545366           1    10        1        0
GSM2545371           1    15        0        1
GSM2545375           1    20        0        1
GSM2545376           1    21        0        1
GSM2545377           1    22        0        1

R

vd <- VisualizeDesign(sampleData = meta_fem_day04 %>%
                          select(time, tissue, mouse),
                      designFormula = NULL, 
                      designMatrix = design, flipCoordFitted = FALSE)
vd$designmatrix

OUTPUT

           (Intercept) mouse Spc.Day0 Spc.Day4
GSM2545337           1     9        0        0
GSM2545338           1    10        0        0
GSM2545339           1    15        0        0
GSM2545344           1    22        0        0
GSM2545348           1     8        0        0
GSM2545352           1    21        0        0
GSM2545353           1     4        0        0
GSM2545358           1     4        1        0
GSM2545362           1    20        0        0
GSM2545364           1     8        1        0
GSM2545365           1     9        1        0
GSM2545366           1    10        1        0
GSM2545371           1    15        0        1
GSM2545375           1    20        0        1
GSM2545376           1    21        0        1
GSM2545377           1    22        0        1

R

vd$plotlist

OUTPUT

$`time = Day0`

OUTPUT


$`time = Day4`

Keypoints

The formula framework in R allows creation of design matrices, which details the variables expected to be associated with systematic differences in gene expression levels.
Comparisons of interest can be defined using contrasts, which are linear combinations of the model coefficients.