  The human genome is incredibly information-rich, consisting of approximately
25,000 protein-coding genes spread out over 3.2 billion nucleotide base pairs
contained within 24 unique chromosomes. The genome is important in maintaining
spatial context, which assists in understanding gene interactions and
relationships. However, existing methods of genome visualization that utilize
spatial awareness are inefficient and prone to limitations in presenting gene
information and spatial context. This study proposed an innovative approach to
genome visualization and exploration utilizing virtual reality. To determine
the optimal placement of gene information and evaluate its essentiality in a VR
environment, we implemented and conducted a user study with three different
interaction methods. Two interaction methods were developed in virtual reality
to determine if gene information is better suited to be embedded within the
chromosome ideogram or separate from the ideogram. The final ideogram
interaction method was performed on a desktop and served as a benchmark to
evaluate the potential benefits associated with the use of VR. Our study
findings reveal a preference for VR, despite longer task completion times. In
addition, the placement of gene information within the visualization had a
notable impact on the ability of a user to complete tasks. Specifically, gene
information embedded within the chromosome ideogram was better suited for
single target identification and summarization tasks, while separating gene
information from the ideogram better supported region comparison tasks.
