More at https://leidosbiomed.csod.com/ats/careersite/jobdetails.aspx?site=4&c=leidosbiomed&id=2040

What Are lncRNAs?

lncRNAs are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that do not code for proteins. Despite their non-coding nature, they play diverse roles in gene regulation, including chromatin remodeling, transcriptional control, and post-transcriptional processing. Unlike messenger RNAs (mRNAs), lncRNAs often function as scaffolds, decoys, or guides in cellular machinery, influencing biological processes such as cell differentiation, immune response, and even cancer metastasis.

Challenges in lncRNA Research

Identifying and understanding lncRNAs pose unique challenges:

1. High Sequence Variability: Unlike protein-coding genes, lncRNAs exhibit low sequence conservation across species, making functional predictions difficult.
2. Low Expression Levels: lncRNAs are often expressed at low levels, complicating their detection in transcriptomic data.
3. Diverse Functions: The multifunctional nature of lncRNAs requires advanced computational tools to decipher their roles in complex networks.

Bioinformatics: A Crucial Ally in lncRNA Research

Bioinformatics bridges the gap between raw biological data and meaningful insights, making it indispensable in lncRNA research. Here’s how:

1. Identification and Annotation

High-throughput sequencing technologies like RNA-seq generate vast amounts of data. Bioinformatics tools such as StringTie, Cufflinks, and HISAT2 help assemble and annotate lncRNAs from this data. Additionally, databases like NONCODE, LNCipedia, and Ensembl provide curated repositories of lncRNA sequences and annotations.

2. Functional Prediction

Bioinformatics algorithms predict the potential functions of lncRNAs by analyzing their interactions with DNA, RNA, and proteins. Tools like LncRNA2Function and RIblast utilize sequence motifs and secondary structure predictions to hypothesize about the roles of specific lncRNAs.

3. Network Construction

lncRNAs often act as regulatory hubs. Bioinformatics platforms such as Cytoscape enable the visualization of lncRNA-mediated networks, elucidating their roles in pathways like cell cycle regulation and apoptosis.

4. Epigenetic Studies

lncRNAs are known to interact with chromatin-modifying complexes, influencing gene expression epigenetically. Tools like ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq, combined with computational pipelines, identify these interactions and map them to the genome.

5. Clinical Applications

Bioinformatics aids in the discovery of lncRNA biomarkers for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Machine learning models analyze differential expression profiles, helping prioritize lncRNAs with therapeutic potential.

Case Study: lncRNAs in Cancer Research

lncRNAs such as HOTAIR and MALAT1 have been implicated in cancer progression. Bioinformatics analyses have revealed their roles in promoting metastasis and altering the tumor microenvironment. For example, transcriptome analysis in cancer patients identifies lncRNA expression signatures, enabling precision medicine approaches.

Future Directions

The fusion of bioinformatics with experimental biology is unlocking the secrets of lncRNAs. Advances in artificial intelligence, single-cell sequencing, and structural modeling promise to overcome current limitations. Here are some promising directions:

• Integrative Analysis: Combining multi-omics data to understand the interplay of lncRNAs with other biomolecules.
• CRISPR Screens: Leveraging bioinformatics to design CRISPR-based functional screens for lncRNAs.
• Therapeutic Development: Using bioinformatics to design lncRNA-based therapeutics, including antisense oligonucleotides and RNA interference tools.

Conclusion

lncRNAs are the hidden gems of the genome, and bioinformatics is the key to unearthing their full potential. As research progresses, lncRNAs could pave the way for novel diagnostics, targeted therapies, and personalized medicine, revolutionizing our approach to complex diseases.

The journey into the world of lncRNAs is only beginning, and bioinformatics will continue to play a pivotal role in decoding these molecular mysteries. Whether you’re a researcher, clinician, or bioinformatics enthusiast, the study of lncRNAs offers a fascinating frontier of discovery.

Lab Page http://gabi.cidbio.org/index/

• Bioconductor – A plethora of tools for analysis and comprehension of high-throughput genomic data, including 1500+ software packages. [ paper-2004 | web ]
• Biopython – Freely available tools for biological computing in Python, with included cookbook, packaging and thorough documentation. Part of the Open Bioinformatics Foundation. Contains the very useful Entrez package for API access to the NCBI databases. [ paper-2009 | web ]
• Bioconda – A channel for the conda package manager specializing in bioinformatics software. Includes a repository with 3000+ ready-to-install (with conda install) bioinformatics packages. [ paper-2018 | web ]
• BioJulia – Bioinformatics and computational biology infastructure for the Julia programming language. [ web ]
• Rust-Bio – Rust implementations of algorithms and data structures useful for bioinformatics. [ paper-2016 ]
• SeqAn – The modern C++ library for sequence analysis.

The symposium will focus on topics in the below mentioned areas.

Topics: Algorithms for biomolecular sequences / structures Bioinformatics databases and tools Protein function Structure based drug design Machine learning Deep learning Large scale data analysis Big Data NGS Analysis Protein interactions/network Molecular modelling/docking/screening Biomolecular structure and function More

Info: https://web.iitm.ac.in/bioinfo2/symposium2020/home

More at http://www.babraham.ac.uk/our-research/nuclear-dynamics/

Address of the bookmark: http://www.h-invitational.jp/g-compass/

mScaffolder scaffolds a genome using an existing high quality genome as the reference. It aligns the two genomes using nucmer utility from MUMmer and then orders and orients the contigs of the candidate genome guided by their alignments to the reference genome. Please send your questions and comments to mchakrab@uci.edu.

Citation https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-017-0010-y

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/mahulchak/mscaffolder

• hist: Create an histogram of k-mer occurrences from a sequence file. Adds metadata in output for easy plotting.
• gcp: K-mer GC Processor. Creates a matrix of the number of K-mers found given a GC count and a K-mer count.
• comp: K-mer comparison tool. Creates a matrix of shared K-mers between two (or three) sequence files or hashes.
• sect: SEquence Coverage estimator Tool. Estimates the coverage of each sequence in a file using K-mers from another sequence file.
• blob: Given, reads and an assembly, calculates both the read and assembly K-mer coverage along with GC% for each sequence in the assembly.SEquence Coverage estimator Tool.
• filter: Filtering tools. Contains tools for filtering k-mer hashes and FastQ/A files:
  • kmer: Produces a k-mer hash containing only k-mers within specified coverage and GC tolerances.
  • seq: Filters a sequence file based on whether or not the sequences contain k-mers within a provided hash.
• plot: Plotting tools. Contains several plotting tools to visualise K-mer and compare distributions. The following plot tools are available:
  • density: Creates a density plot from a matrix created with the "comp" tool. Typically this is used to compare two K-mer hashes produced by different NGS reads.
  • profile: Creates a K-mer coverage plot for a single sequence. Takes in fasta coverage output coverage from the "sect" tool
  • spectra-cn: Creates a stacked histogram using a matrix created with the "comp" tool. Typically this is used to compare a jellyfish hash produced from a read set to a jellyfish hash produced from an assembly. The plot shows the amount of distinct K-mers absent, as well as the copy number variation present within the assembly.
  • spectra-hist: Creates a K-mer spectra plot for a set of K-mer histograms produced either by jellyfish-histo or kat-histo.
  • spectra-mx: Creates a K-mer spectra plot for a set of K-mer histograms that are derived from selected rows or columns in a matrix produced by the "comp".

In addition, KAT contains a python script for analysing the mathematical distributions present in the K-mer spectra in order to determine how much content is present in each peak.

This README only contains some brief details of how to install and use KAT. For more extensive documentation please visit: https://kat.readthedocs.org/en/latest/

https://academic.oup.com/bioinformatics/article/33/4/574/2664339 

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/TGAC/KAT

minimap -t 24 assembly.fasta long_reads.fastq.gz | racon -t 24 long_reads.fastq.gz - assembly.fasta racon_assembly.fasta
nucmer -p nucmer assembly.fasta racon_assembly.fasta
show-snps -C -T -r nucmer.delta

This reports Racon's changes in a table. You can exclude indels with the -I option in show-snps. 

This process (Racon -> MUMmer -> SNP table) solves the problem I originally raised in this issue. So as far as I'm concerned, you can close this issue (or keep it open if you still want to implement some kind of variant table).