BALLI: Bartlett-adjusted likelihood-based linear model approach for identifying differentially expressed genes with RNA-seq data.

We conducted extensive simulations to compare the performance of BALLI with those of existing approaches (edgeR, DESeq2, and voom). Results from the simulation studies showed that BALLI correctly controlled the type-1 error rates at various nominal significance levels and produced better statistical power and precision estimates than those of other competing methods in various scenarios. Furthermore, BALLI was robust to variation of library size. It was also successfully applied to Holstein milk yield data, illustrating its practical value. CONCLUSIONS;: BALLI is statistically more efficient and valid than existing methods, and we conclude that it is useful for identifying DEGs in RNA-seq analysis.