The impact of non tree-like evolution such as horizontal gene transfers and hybridization on species biology
Evolution and adaptation of animals in the absence of sexual reproduction and the underlying mechanisms
Genomic signatures of adaptation to a parasitic life-style

More at https://edanchin.org/

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/

Genome Workbench can display sequence data in many ways, including graphical sequence views, various alignment views, phylogenetic tree views, and tabular views of data. It can also align your private data to data in public databases, display your data in the context of public data, and retrieve BLAST results.

Genome Workbench is built on the NCBI C++ ToolKit and uses cross-platform APIs for graphics. It runs on your local machine, and is available for Windows 2000/XP, Linux, MacOS X, and various flavors of Unix.

NCBI Genome Workbench is an integrated application for viewing and analyzing sequence data. Genome Workbench was developed entirely in-house at NCBI and makes use of the NCBI C++ ToolKit. The C++ ToolKit provides a convenient and flexible cross-platform API for managing system internals, database connections, network sockets, and the NCBI data model. In addition, the C++ ToolKit provides the Object Manager, which abstracts handling of sequences and sequence-related objects.

 New Features in Genome Workbench 2.7.15

• Multiple Alignment View: implemented adaptive feature display when zooming in
• Active Objects Inspector replaces Selection Inspector. New View should offer an improved selection context examination. See Using Active Objects Inspector tutorial for more details.
• Binary packages for Linux OpenSUSE 13.1 are now available

Bug Fixes and Improvements in Genome Workbench 2.7.15

• Fixed major issue with OpenGL overlay/scrolling. Could cause crashes or view scrolling irregularities
• Multiple Pane View: fixed crash on loading BLAST results
• Graphical Sequence View: fixed crash on zooming in and out, related to SNP track
• Graphical Sequence View: fixed Go To Position dialog to give better diagnostics in case of a user error
• Graphical Sequence View: PDF export fixed rendering of Markers with commas in the name
• Text View / Flat File: fixed Mac OS rendering issues
• Text View / Flat File: performance optimization, extended capabilities of real-time rendering of molecules to tens of thousands
• File Import: optimization improvement to speed up load of files containing multiple project items
• File Import: remapping stage now shows accession.version and description of molecules, instead of plain GI numbers
• Mac OS: improved tooltips for toolbar buttons
• Phylogenetic Tree Builder Tool: improved diagnostics of errors
• Multiple Alignment View: optimizations to avoid main GUI freezes
• Open Dialog: removed duplicate elements in table of genomes (load Genome)
• PDF export: fixed issue with XREF table errors
• Tree View: fixed issues with showing Force Layout progress on Mac OS
• Tree View: PDF export fixed issues for showing labels of collapsed nodes
• Tree View: added an option to stop layout
• Tree View: broadcasting mechanism fixed not to accumulate selected nodes

Reference:

NCBI news

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tools/gbench/

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

The software is implemented in Python 3 and runs in both Python 2.7 and 3.4– on Macintosh and Linux systems. It is freely available at https://github.com/nigyta/dfast_core/ under the GPLv3 license with external binaries bundled in the software distribution. An on-line version is also available at https://dfast.nig.ac.jp/.

Address of the bookmark: https://dfast.nig.ac.jp/

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

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