Effective July 10, 2023, NCBI’s Assembly and Genome record pages now redirect to new NCBI Datasets pages. As previously announced, these updates are part of our ongoing effort to modernize and improve your user experience. NCBI Datasets is a new resource that makes it easier to find and download genome data.   

The following pages have been updated:

• The NCBI Assembly record pages now redirect to the new NCBI Datasets Genome record pages that describe assembled genomes and provide links to related NCBI tools such as Genome Data Viewer and BLAST.  
• The NCBI Genome record pages now redirect to the NCBI Datasets Taxonomy record pages that provide a taxonomy-focused portal to genes, genomes, and additional NCBI resources.   

During this transition, you will have the option to return to the legacy Genome and Assembly record pages. We will remove the legacy pages in early 2024.  

Requirements
- 3-5 years of relevant bioinformatics experience such as public data mining,
processing, analysing and visualising omics data, etc.
- Ph.D., Masters or Bachelors in Bioinformatics, Biotechnology,
Computational Biology, or related field.
- Understanding of molecular biology and biochemistry.
- Comfort and experience with biological research and data.
- Proficient in a programming language used for bioinformatics such as R or
python.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to summarise and simplify complex analyses for a non-technical
audience.
- Strong analytical skills, curiosity and a knack to solve difficult problems.
- Work well in multi-disciplinary teams with people of vastly different
backgrounds.
- Demonstrated success in collaboration and independent work.

More at https://angel.co/elucidata/jobs/460104-senior-bioinformatics-scientist

What is Genome Assembly?

Genome assembly involves piecing together short DNA sequence reads generated by sequencing platforms (e.g., Illumina, PacBio, Oxford Nanopore) into longer, contiguous sequences called contigs. This can be performed as:

• De Novo Assembly: Without a reference genome.
• Reference-Guided Assembly: Using a reference genome to guide the assembly process.

Step 1: Preparing Your Data

Before starting the assembly, ensure that your raw sequencing data is high quality.

1. Input Data

   • Short Reads: Illumina sequencing generates short, accurate reads ideal for scaffolding.
   • Long Reads: PacBio and Nanopore sequencing provide long reads for resolving repetitive regions.

2. Quality Control (QC)
   Use tools like FastQC or MultiQC to assess the quality of your reads:

   fastqc reads.fastq multiqc .

   Look for issues like low-quality bases, adapter contamination, or overrepresented sequences.

3. Read Trimming and Filtering
   Trim low-quality bases and adapters using Trimmomatic or Cutadapt:

   trimmomatic PE reads_R1.fastq reads_R2.fastq trimmed_R1.fastq trimmed_R2.fastq \ ILLUMINACLIP:adapters.fa:2:30:10 LEADING:3 TRAILING:3 SLIDINGWINDOW:4:20 MINLEN:36

Step 2: Choosing an Assembly Strategy

Select an assembly strategy based on your data type:

• Short-Read Assemblers:

  • SPAdes: Popular for microbial genomes.
  • Velvet: Fast for smaller genomes.

• Long-Read Assemblers:

  • Canu: Ideal for long-read datasets.
  • Flye: Versatile for small and large genomes.

• Hybrid Assemblers:

  • MaSuRCA: Combines short and long reads.
  • Unicycler: Optimized for bacterial genomes.

Step 3: Running the Assembly

3.1. SPAdes (Short-Read Assembly)

SPAdes is an excellent choice for small genomes, such as bacteria.

The output includes assembled contigs (contigs.fasta) and scaffolds (scaffolds.fasta).

3.2. Canu (Long-Read Assembly)

Canu is designed for high-error long reads from PacBio or Nanopore.

The output will be in canu_output/genome.contigs.fasta.

3.3. Hybrid Assembly with Unicycler

Unicycler combines short and long reads for improved assemblies.

Step 4: Assessing Assembly Quality

After assembly, evaluate its quality using the following tools:

1. QUAST
   QUAST generates assembly statistics, such as N50, genome size, and GC content:

   quast contigs.fasta -o quast_output

2. BUSCO
   BUSCO checks genome completeness by identifying conserved genes:

   busco -i contigs.fasta -o busco_output -l fungi_odb10 -m genome

3. Assembly Graph Visualization
   Visualize assembly graphs with Bandage:

   Bandage load assembly_graph.gfa

Step 5: Post-Assembly Steps

1. Polishing
   Improve assembly accuracy using tools like Pilon (for short reads) or Racon (for long reads).

   racon long_reads.fasta mapped_reads.sam contigs.fasta > polished_contigs.fasta

2. Scaffolding
   Link contigs into scaffolds using tools like SSPACE or Opera-LG if required.

3. Annotation
   Annotate the assembled genome using Prokka for prokaryotes or Maker for eukaryotes.

   prokka --outdir annotation_output --prefix genome contigs.fasta

Step 6: Sharing and Archiving

1. Submit to Public Repositories
   Share your assembly in databases like NCBI GenBank, ENA, or DDBJ.

2. Metadata Preparation
   Include detailed metadata for your submission, such as organism name, sequencing platform, and coverage.

Best Practices

• Always perform quality checks at each stage to ensure data integrity.
• Use multiple tools to cross-validate results when working with complex genomes.
• Document parameters and software versions for reproducibility.

Conclusion

Genome assembly is a powerful process that transforms raw sequencing data into a coherent representation of an organism’s genome. By following this step-by-step guide, you can successfully assemble genomes and uncover valuable biological insights. Whether you’re assembling a microbial genome or tackling the complexities of a eukaryotic genome, these tools and strategies will set you on the path to success.

Also, Bioinformatics Industrial Training Program (BIITP) is merged with the HRD Biotechnology Industrial Training Programme (BITP).

While this comes as a surprise for a lot of participants. We believe this is a good attempt to unify and create a national benchmark for talent. And we appreciate this endeavor from Department of biotechnology.

However, such last-minute announcements can create confusion. Thus candidates are advised to go through the complete notification DBT-BET JRF 2019 via the link below.If you have any kind of doubts, you must contact DBT JRF or Biotecnika for any kind of help & assistance.

Attention:-Bioinformatics Programs (BINC and BIITP)

1. Bioinformatics National Certification (BINC) has been merged with DBT-Junior
Research Fellow (BET Exam)

2. Bioinformatics Industrial Training Program (BIITP) is merged with HRDBiotechnology Industrial Training Programme (BITP).

Students of Bioinformatics, who are interested to apply for Fellowship or Industrial
Training may keep track of the advertisement of DBT-JRF (BET Exam) and BITP
of DBT.

 More at http://www.bcil.nic.in/files/Attention_Bioinformatics_Programs_(BINC_and_BIITP).pdf

No previous programming knowledge is assumed. By following this tutorial you will learn the fundamental concepts of programming by using scripting languages: variables, types, arrays, cycles, conditional statements, functions, objects, regular expressions, files reading and manipulation et-cetera.

Address of the bookmark: http://www.cellbiol.com/bioinformatics_web_development/introduction/

Applications are invited for one position of Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in a Department of Biotechnology (DBT) sponsored research project entitled “Design, synthesis and evaluation of potent aminopeptidase inhibitors for malarial therapy” under the supervision of Dr. Shakti Sahi.

The monthly fellowship of JRF will be Rs 12,000/- plus HRA as per the University rules.

Essential Qualification: Master degree in any discipline of Life Science with NET qualified.

Desirable Qualification: Preference will be given to candidates having research experience in in silico drug designing/Bioinformatics.

Interested candidates may send their resume to undersigned on or before 14th July 2013 by post-mail/e-mail shaktis@gbu.ac.in or shaktisahi@gmail.com. No TA and DA will be paid for appearing for the interview. Dr. Shakti Sahi (Principle Investigator)

Advertisement:
www.gbu.ac.in/Recruitment/JRF_Advt_DBTProject_Shakt

More at http://clark.genetics.utah.edu/

Our long-term research objective is to understand microtubule organization in living cells, with an emphasis on mitosis. We develop in-vitro assays, quantitative image analysis and cytosim, a computer simulation to study cellular architecture from a mechanistic angle, modeling the interactions of microtubules and related proteins such as molecular motors. In the past, we combined simulations and experiments to study microtubule self-organization, and the mechanical stability of two interacting asters. More recently, we looked at the focusing of mitotic fibers, the formation of antiparallel arrays of microtubules in fission yeast and the spindle positionning in C. elegans.
We are supported by BioMS, an initiative in Systems Biology, and involved in Cell networks.

Link: http://www.cytosim.org

Research Area:
Mapping loci in ENU mutants in mice in complex pedigrees
Investigation of DNA sharing in distantly related individuals
CNV analysis in pedigrees and connections to linkage studies
Statistical Genetics

Link @ http://www.wehi.edu.au/faculty_members/dr_melanie_bahlo