Agent skill
bio-data-visualization-volcano-customization
Create publication-ready volcano plots with custom thresholds, gene labels, and highlighting using ggplot2, EnhancedVolcano, or matplotlib. Use when visualizing differential expression or association results with gene annotations.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/data/volcano-customization
SKILL.md
Volcano Plot Customization
ggplot2 Basic Volcano
library(ggplot2)
library(ggrepel)
# Add significance category column
df$significance <- case_when(
df$padj < 0.05 & df$log2FoldChange > 1 ~ 'Up',
df$padj < 0.05 & df$log2FoldChange < -1 ~ 'Down',
TRUE ~ 'NS'
)
ggplot(df, aes(x = log2FoldChange, y = -log10(pvalue))) +
geom_point(aes(color = significance), alpha = 0.6, size = 1.5) +
scale_color_manual(values = c(Up = '#E64B35', Down = '#4DBBD5', NS = 'gray70')) +
geom_hline(yintercept = -log10(0.05), linetype = 'dashed', color = 'gray40') +
geom_vline(xintercept = c(-1, 1), linetype = 'dashed', color = 'gray40') +
theme_classic() +
labs(x = 'log2 Fold Change', y = '-log10(p-value)', color = 'Regulation')
ggplot2 with Gene Labels
# Label top significant genes
top_genes <- df %>%
filter(padj < 0.05, abs(log2FoldChange) > 1) %>%
arrange(pvalue) %>%
head(20)
ggplot(df, aes(x = log2FoldChange, y = -log10(pvalue))) +
geom_point(aes(color = significance), alpha = 0.6, size = 1.5) +
scale_color_manual(values = c(Up = '#E64B35', Down = '#4DBBD5', NS = 'gray70')) +
geom_text_repel(
data = top_genes,
aes(label = gene),
size = 3,
max.overlaps = 20,
box.padding = 0.5,
segment.color = 'gray50'
) +
theme_classic()
# Label specific genes of interest
genes_of_interest <- c('TP53', 'BRCA1', 'MYC', 'EGFR')
highlight_df <- df %>% filter(gene %in% genes_of_interest)
ggplot(df, aes(x = log2FoldChange, y = -log10(pvalue))) +
geom_point(aes(color = significance), alpha = 0.4, size = 1.5) +
geom_point(data = highlight_df, color = 'black', size = 3) +
geom_text_repel(data = highlight_df, aes(label = gene), fontface = 'bold') +
theme_classic()
EnhancedVolcano (R)
library(EnhancedVolcano)
# Basic EnhancedVolcano
EnhancedVolcano(df,
lab = df$gene,
x = 'log2FoldChange',
y = 'pvalue',
pCutoff = 0.05,
FCcutoff = 1,
title = 'Treatment vs Control',
subtitle = 'DE genes highlighted')
# Customized EnhancedVolcano
EnhancedVolcano(df,
lab = df$gene,
x = 'log2FoldChange',
y = 'pvalue',
pCutoff = 0.05,
FCcutoff = 1,
xlim = c(-5, 5),
ylim = c(0, 50),
pointSize = 2,
labSize = 3,
colAlpha = 0.6,
col = c('gray70', '#4DBBD5', '#00A087', '#E64B35'),
legendLabels = c('NS', 'Log2FC', 'p-value', 'p-value and Log2FC'),
legendPosition = 'right',
drawConnectors = TRUE,
widthConnectors = 0.5,
maxoverlapsConnectors = 20,
selectLab = genes_of_interest, # Only label specific genes
boxedLabels = TRUE)
EnhancedVolcano with Custom Keyvals
# Custom point colors by category
keyvals <- ifelse(df$log2FoldChange > 2 & df$padj < 0.01, '#E64B35',
ifelse(df$log2FoldChange < -2 & df$padj < 0.01, '#4DBBD5',
ifelse(df$padj < 0.05, '#00A087', 'gray70')))
names(keyvals)[keyvals == '#E64B35'] <- 'Highly Up'
names(keyvals)[keyvals == '#4DBBD5'] <- 'Highly Down'
names(keyvals)[keyvals == '#00A087'] <- 'Moderate'
names(keyvals)[keyvals == 'gray70'] <- 'NS'
EnhancedVolcano(df,
lab = df$gene,
x = 'log2FoldChange',
y = 'pvalue',
colCustom = keyvals,
legendPosition = 'right')
matplotlib Volcano (Python)
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 6))
# Color by significance
colors = np.where((df['padj'] < 0.05) & (df['log2FoldChange'] > 1), '#E64B35',
np.where((df['padj'] < 0.05) & (df['log2FoldChange'] < -1), '#4DBBD5', 'gray'))
ax.scatter(df['log2FoldChange'], -np.log10(df['pvalue']),
c=colors, alpha=0.6, s=20, edgecolors='none')
# Threshold lines
ax.axhline(-np.log10(0.05), color='gray', linestyle='--', linewidth=1)
ax.axvline(-1, color='gray', linestyle='--', linewidth=1)
ax.axvline(1, color='gray', linestyle='--', linewidth=1)
ax.set_xlabel('log2 Fold Change')
ax.set_ylabel('-log10(p-value)')
plt.tight_layout()
matplotlib with Labels
from adjustText import adjust_text
# Get top genes to label
top_idx = df.nsmallest(15, 'pvalue').index
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 8))
ax.scatter(df['log2FoldChange'], -np.log10(df['pvalue']), c=colors, alpha=0.5, s=15)
# Add labels with adjust_text to avoid overlaps
texts = []
for idx in top_idx:
texts.append(ax.text(df.loc[idx, 'log2FoldChange'],
-np.log10(df.loc[idx, 'pvalue']),
df.loc[idx, 'gene'],
fontsize=8))
adjust_text(texts, arrowprops=dict(arrowstyle='-', color='gray', lw=0.5))
plt.tight_layout()
Threshold Customization
# Standard thresholds
# FC > 1 (2-fold change): Common for RNA-seq, may miss subtle changes
# FC > 0.58 (~1.5-fold): More sensitive, use for subtle effects
# padj < 0.05: Standard FDR threshold
# padj < 0.01: Stringent, fewer false positives
# padj < 0.1: Relaxed, use for exploratory analysis
# Adjust thresholds based on your data
pval_threshold <- 0.05
fc_threshold <- 1 # log2 scale
df$significance <- case_when(
df$padj < pval_threshold & df$log2FoldChange > fc_threshold ~ 'Up',
df$padj < pval_threshold & df$log2FoldChange < -fc_threshold ~ 'Down',
TRUE ~ 'NS'
)
Save Publication-Ready Volcano
# R - high resolution
ggsave('volcano.pdf', width = 8, height = 6)
ggsave('volcano.png', width = 8, height = 6, dpi = 300)
# EnhancedVolcano returns ggplot object
p <- EnhancedVolcano(df, lab = df$gene, x = 'log2FoldChange', y = 'pvalue')
ggsave('volcano.pdf', p, width = 10, height = 8)
# Python
plt.savefig('volcano.pdf', bbox_inches='tight')
plt.savefig('volcano.png', dpi=300, bbox_inches='tight')
Related Skills
- differential-expression/de-visualization - DE-specific plots
- data-visualization/ggplot2-fundamentals - General ggplot2
- data-visualization/color-palettes - Color selection
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