The Experimental Signature collection captures the mutational processes from potential cancer risk factors which have been observed in experimental models. These mutational processes leave distinct imprints on the genome due to their unique chemistry and specific activities.

This collection provides the opportunity to observe the similarities and differences in the patterns of mutations resulting from a given exposure across different species and model organisms.

This is a complementary approach to the Human Cancer Signature collection. It could further our understanding of the accumulation of somatic mutations resulting from carcinogenic exposures and their contribution to the hallmarks of cancer.

To create these signatures, we gathered publicly available data from whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing studies using experimental models across five species (Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, Caenorhabditis elegans & Gallus gallus). We compiled over 3,900 samples across 515 studies to elucidate the putative mutational profiles of 140 treatments.

Some treatments involved gene knock-outs, others included viral infections, and some utilized external metabolic activation, such as liver S9 fraction.

The mutational profiles are displayed as the average of the experimental replicates for each study. Background signatures have been filtered from some samples including iPSCs, mouse whole-genomes, and mouse in-vitro exomes. For these samples, both filtered and unfiltered profiles are depicted on the page.