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GeneNMF vs qtl2

A side-by-side editorial comparison of GeneNMF and qtl2 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:bioinformaticsr-package

GeneNMF vs qtl2: at a glance

FeatureGeneNMFqtl2
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.02.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themessingle-cell-genomics, nmf, gene-programs, bioinformaticsqtl-mapping, statistical-genetics, bioinformatics, r-package
Last editorial update1h ago5h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is GeneNMF?

GeneNMF rebuilt how it derives meta-programs, changing every result it had produced.

GeneNMF applies non-negative matrix factorization to single-cell expression data to find gene programs, then consolidates programs recurring across samples into meta-programs. Version 0.6.0 replaced the consolidation method: instead of reducing each program to a gene set and taking a consensus, it retains full gene weight vectors and compares them by cosine similarity. Later releases have built reporting and control around that core — a metaprogram composition matrix showing which samples contributed, custom signature databases for enrichment testing, and the ability to drop meta-programs from results.

Read the full GeneNMF trajectory →

What is qtl2?

The standard QTL mapping package in R opened its genome scan to user-supplied likelihood models.

qtl2 is the R toolkit for QTL mapping in experimental crosses, covering genotype probability calculation, genome scans with and without polygenic effects, permutation testing, SNP association, and the plotting that goes with them. The last year of work has pushed hard in two directions: tooling for high-throughput expression and protein QTL studies, and a generalisation of the scan engine itself so the log-likelihood being maximised can be supplied by the user. Note that the release history reached this feed out of order, so feed position is not a reliable guide to which release came first.

Read the full qtl2 trajectory →

GeneNMF vs qtl2: editorial side-by-side

G
GeneNMF
ANALYTICS
0.0

GeneNMF rebuilt how it derives meta-programs, changing every result it had produced.

◆ Current state

GeneNMF applies non-negative matrix factorization to single-cell expression data to find gene programs, then consolidates programs recurring across samples into meta-programs. Version 0.6.0 replaced the consolidation method: instead of reducing each program to a gene set and taking a consensus, it retains full gene weight vectors and compares them by cosine similarity. Later releases have built reporting and control around that core — a metaprogram composition matrix showing which samples contributed, custom signature databases for enrichment testing, and the ability to drop meta-programs from results.

◆ Where it's heading

The package is moving from producing meta-programs to letting users interrogate and constrain how they were formed. Composition matrices, the drop function and downsampled similarity heatmaps all serve inspection rather than derivation. The parameters added alongside the 0.6.0 rewrite — specificity weighting, cumulative weight thresholds, confidence defined as the fraction of programs containing a gene — turn what were fixed internal choices into stated, tunable ones.

◆ Prediction

Recent releases have been fixes and compatibility work rather than method changes, so the core approach appears settled. The dependency on an RcppML version not on CRAN is the loose end most likely to force the next release.

Q
qtl2
ANALYTICS
2.5

The standard QTL mapping package in R opened its genome scan to user-supplied likelihood models.

◆ Current state

qtl2 is the R toolkit for QTL mapping in experimental crosses, covering genotype probability calculation, genome scans with and without polygenic effects, permutation testing, SNP association, and the plotting that goes with them. The last year of work has pushed hard in two directions: tooling for high-throughput expression and protein QTL studies, and a generalisation of the scan engine itself so the log-likelihood being maximised can be supplied by the user. Note that the release history reached this feed out of order, so feed position is not a reliable guide to which release came first.

◆ Where it's heading

The eQTL and pQTL direction is the clearest thread — cis-trans plots, hotspot counting over a sliding window, multi-trait scan heat maps, and genome-wide genotype plots all arrived together, which is the toolkit an experiment with thousands of traits needs rather than one with a handful. Running underneath it is a steady generalisation of the core: a scan function that accepts an arbitrary likelihood, permutations that work with alternative scan functions, full variance-covariance output from single-position fits. Performance and parallelism get attention each cycle, including a more considerate default that leaves one core free. The rest is the ordinary maintenance of a long-lived package — renames to avoid tidyverse collisions, compiler warnings, and correctness fixes on specific cross types.

◆ Prediction

With scan1gen and permutation support for alternative scan functions in place, the natural next step is more model types built on that hook rather than more special-cased scan functions; the entries do not indicate which models are planned.

Alternatives to GeneNMF and qtl2

Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either GeneNMF or qtl2.

See all GeneNMF alternatives → · See all qtl2 alternatives →

Recent activity from GeneNMF and qtl2

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 27d agoqtl2chr_lengths() extended to cross2 objects
  2. 1mo agoqtl2A genome scan that takes your own likelihood function
  3. 2mo agoqtl2Hotspot counting and cis-trans plots for eQTL studies
  4. 3mo agoqtl2Confidence interval plotting, plus a documentation correction
  5. 11mo agoGeneNMFSingle-sample runs fixed; gene weight definition refined
  6. 1y agoqtl2Finer-grained parallelism for kinship-based scans
  7. 1y agoqtl2CSV readers renamed to avoid the readr collision
  8. 1y agoGeneNMFMetaprogram composition exposed and custom signature DBs supported
  9. 1y agoGeneNMFSimilarity heatmap downsampling and meta-program removal
  10. 2y agoGeneNMFMeta-programs rebuilt on gene weight vectors and cosine similarity
  11. 2y agoGeneNMFFirst stable release published to CRAN

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between GeneNMF and qtl2?

Both compete on the same themes — bioinformatics, r-package — within Analytics. qtl2 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is GeneNMF better than qtl2?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. qtl2 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to GeneNMF?

Top GeneNMF alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "GeneNMF alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/genenmf for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to qtl2?

Top qtl2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "qtl2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/qtl2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.