BOL: Related items

Edanchin Lab

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 08:00:07 -0600

My main topics of interest are:

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/

Bioinformatics Head (Bioinformatics Manager III), Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory at Frederick National Laboratory

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 00:19:48 -0500

Frederick National Laboratory seeking an enthusiastic, creative, and seasoned bioinformatics professional to join our leadership team and direct the exceptional Bioinformatics Group at the Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory (CGR). CGR has a diverse team of bioinformatics and computational scientists that support all areas of bioinformatics and data analysis (infrastructure, data QC, pipeline development and maintenance, data curation and sharing, methodology development, statistical analyses, machine learning approaches, and scientific interpretation).

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

The Role of lncRNA in Bioinformatics: Unlocking the Secrets of the Genome

LEGE — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 02:09:47 -0600

In the intricate dance of molecular biology, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key players, capturing the interest of researchers worldwide. These RNA molecules, once dismissed as "junk," have proven to be vital in the regulation of gene expression, cellular processes, and the progression of diseases. The intersection of lncRNA studies and bioinformatics is transforming our understanding of these enigmatic molecules, offering profound insights into their structure, function, and therapeutic potential.

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:

High Sequence Variability: Unlike protein-coding genes, lncRNAs exhibit low sequence conservation across species, making functional predictions difficult.
Low Expression Levels: lncRNAs are often expressed at low levels, complicating their detection in transcriptomic data.
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.

Update Genome Workbench 2.7.15 released

Surabhi Chaudhary — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:12:17 -0600

NCBI Genome Workbench is an integrated application for viewing and analyzing sequence data. With Genome Workbench, you can view data in publically available sequence databases at NCBI, and mix this data with your own private data.

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/

How to sequence the human genome - Mark J. Kiel

Fri, 30 May 2014 13:24:11 -0500

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-sequence-the-human-genome-mark-j-kiel Your genome, every human's genome, consists of a unique DNA sequence of A's, T's, C's and G's that tell your cells how to operate. Thanks to technological advances, scientists are now able to know the sequence of letters that makes up an individual genome relatively quickly and inexpensively. Mark J. Kiel takes an in-depth look at the science behind the sequence. Lesson by Mark J. Kiel, animation by Marc Christoforidis.

Bioinformatician’s Pocket Reference !!

RAJESH DETROJA — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 09:56:58 -0500

It is amusing how brain of bioinformaticians work! Learning a new programming language for days feels so much of fun that making 5 minute discussion with neighbours (unless under special circumstances!) in our own mother-tongue. Today every bioinformatician keeps more than few languages and core IT toolkits on their plate. It has become mandatory to be able to mould different code snippets to build our own custom workflows, and thus keeping syntax at our fingertips has become essential.Although Google is best way to get syntax problem solved, it is not a bad idea to keep reference sheets is our smartphones or stick out some printed sheets on the back of your door, in the old fashion way!!

Address of the bookmark: http://infoplatter.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/bioinformaticians-pocket-reference/

mScaffolder: A comparative genome scaffolding tool

Jit — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 04:48:01 -0500

A comparative genome scaffolding tool based on MUMmer

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

Nuclear Dynamics Lab

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 15:03:27 -0500

Lab focus is to elucidate fundamental principles, new mechanisms, machineries and emergent properties that are involved in maintaining the genome and gene expression programmes for improvements in lifelong health and well-being for all.

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

Purge Haplotigs: Pipeline to help with curating heterozygous diploid genome assemblies

Rahul Nayak — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 03:17:20 -0600

Some parts of a genome may have a very high degree of heterozygosity. This causes contigs for both haplotypes of that part of the genome to be assembled as separate primary contigs, rather than as a contig and an associated haplotig. This can be an issue for downstream analysis whether you're working on the haploid or phased-diploid assembly.

Identify pairs of contigs that are syntenic and move one of them to the haplotig 'pool'. The pipeline uses mapped read coverage and Minimap2 alignments to determine which contigs to keep for the haploid assembly. Dotplots are optionally produced for all flagged contig matches, juxtaposed with read-coverage, to help the user determine the proper assignment of any remaining ambiguous contigs. The pipeline will run on either a haploid assembly (i.e. Canu, FALCON or FALCON-Unzip primary contigs) or on a phased-diploid assembly (i.e. FALCON-Unzip primary contigs + haplotigs). Here are two examples of how Purge Haplotigs can improve a haploid and diploid assembly.

Address of the bookmark: https://bitbucket.org/mroachawri/purge_haplotigs

Illumina based assembly pipeline steps !

Surabhi Chaudhary — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 06:22:54 -0600

Illumina

Merge re-sequenced FastQ files (cat)
Read QC (FastQC)
Adapter trimming (fastp)
Removal of host reads (Kraken 2; optional)
Variant calling
1. Read alignment (Bowtie 2)
2. Sort and index alignments (SAMtools)
3. Primer sequence removal (iVar; amplicon data only)
4. Duplicate read marking (picard; optional)
5. Alignment-level QC (picard, SAMtools)
6. Genome-wide and amplicon coverage QC plots (mosdepth)
7. Choice of multiple variant calling and consensus sequence generation routes (iVar variants and consensus; default for amplicon data || BCFTools, BEDTools; default for metagenomics data)
  - Variant annotation (SnpEff, SnpSift)
  - Consensus assessment report (QUAST)
  - Lineage analysis (Pangolin)
  - Clade assignment, mutation calling and sequence quality checks (Nextclade)
  - Individual variant screenshots with annotation tracks (ASCIIGenome)
8. Intersect variants across callers (BCFTools)
De novo assembly
1. Primer trimming (Cutadapt; amplicon data only)
2. Choice of multiple assembly tools (SPAdes || Unicycler || minia)
  - Blast to reference genome (blastn)
  - Contiguate assembly (ABACAS)
  - Assembly report (PlasmidID)
  - Assembly assessment report (QUAST)
Present QC and visualisation for raw read, alignment, assembly and variant calling results (MultiQC)