Determine the appropriate statistical error model for RNA-seq time-series measurements

Ascertain the statistical error model that best describes variability in RNA-seq time-series measurements of eud-1, sult-1, and nhr-40 across replicates and developmental time points in Pristionchus pacificus, replacing the assumed multiplicative Gaussian error model with an empirically or theoretically justified alternative.

Background

The authors observed signal-dependent noise and, lacking sufficient data or first-principles guidance, adopted a multiplicative Gaussian error model for inference.

They explicitly note that their data did not enable a data-driven determination of the error model, leaving open the question of the most appropriate statistical description of measurement noise for these experiments.