BOL: Related items

xmatchview: smith-waterman alignment visualization

Rahul Nayak — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 09:00:58 -0600

xmatchview and xmatchview-conifer are imaging tools for comparing the synteny between DNA sequences. It allows users to align 2 DNA sequences in fasta format using cross_match and displays the alignment in a variety of image formats. xmatchview and xmatchview-conifer are written in python and run on linux and windows. They serve as visual tools for analyzing cross_match alignments. Cross_match (Green, P. (1994) http://www.phrap.org) uses an implementation of the Smith-Waterman algorithm for comparing DNA sequences that is sensitive.

http://www.bcgsc.ca/platform/bioinfo/software/xmatchview

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/warrenlr/xmatchview

assemblytics: delta file to analyze alignments of an assembly to another assembly or a reference genome

Jit — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 07:31:00 -0500

Download and install MUMmer Align your assembly to a reference genome using nucmer (from MUMmer package) $ nucmer -maxmatch -l 100 -c 500 REFERENCE.fa ASSEMBLY.fa -prefix OUT Consult the MUMmer manual if you encounter problems Optional: Gzip the delta file to speed up upload (usually 2-4X faster) $ gzip OUT.delta Then use the OUT.delta.gz file for upload. Upload the .delta or delta.gz file (view example) to Assemblytics Important: Use only contigs rather than scaffolds from the assembly. This will prevent false positives when the number of Ns in the scaffolded sequence does not match perfectly to the distance in the reference. The unique sequence length required represents an anchor for determining if a sequence is unique enough to safely call variants from, which is an alternative to the mapping quality filter for read alignment. http://assemblytics.com/

Address of the bookmark: http://assemblytics.com/

Environment for Tree Exploration (ETE) is a Python programming toolkit that assists in the recontruction, manipulation, analysis and visualization of phylogenetic trees

Rahul Nayak — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 05:32:33 -0600

The Environment for Tree Exploration (ETE) is a Python programming toolkit that assists in the recontruction, manipulation, analysis and visualization of phylogenetic trees (although clustering trees or any other tree-like data structure are also supported).

Other tools

https://github.com/shenwei356/taxonkit

ETE, version: 3.1.1
BioPython, version: 1.73
taxadb, version: 0.10.1
TaxonKit, version: 0.5.0

Address of the bookmark: https://pypi.org/project/ete3/3.1.1/

Tools for Geospatial data analysis !

BioStar — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 02:10:28 -0500

Geospatial data is becoming increasingly important in many fields, including urban planning, environmental science, public health, and more. These tools can help you work with data from a variety of sources, including satellite imagery, GPS data, and other forms of spatial data. They can help you visualize data, perform complex analysis, and even create maps and other visualizations.

The list includes some of the most popular and widely used geospatial tools available in Python. These tools can help you work with data from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats. Some of the tools are focused on visualization, such as Cartopy, Folium, and Contextily, which allow you to create interactive maps and other visualizations. Other tools are more focused on data manipulation and analysis, such as Fiona, GeoPandas, and Rasterio, which allow you to manipulate and analyze spatial data in a variety of ways.

The list also includes some tools for working with specific types of geospatial data. For example, the H3 library is designed specifically for working with hexagonal grids, while PySAL is focused on spatial econometrics and spatial analysis. Whether you are a data scientist, GIS specialist, or geospatial enthusiast, these tools are sure to enhance your work and help you achieve your goals.

In summary, this list is an excellent resource for anyone working with geospatial data in Python. It contains a wide range of tools for working with different types of data, and can help you visualize data, perform complex analysis, and create maps and other visualizations. If you're looking to enhance your skills in geospatial analysis, this list is definitely worth checking out.

These tools are:

ArcGIS - https://lnkd.in/dgC6sKJH
Cartopy - https://lnkd.in/dc8ijXRg
Contextily - https://lnkd.in/dTdQsmKX
Descartes - https://lnkd.in/dCJykxwW
Fiona - https://lnkd.in/d8sJ3Q5a
Folium - https://lnkd.in/dfSsE-MB
GDAL - https://lnkd.in/dYBJBaAY
Geohash - https://lnkd.in/d_NxJ4_M
GeoJSON - https://lnkd.in/daGs2WYq
GeoPandas - https://lnkd.in/dBTFKKV3
Geopy - https://lnkd.in/dfAzR8Xa
Gevent - http://www.gevent.org
H3 - https://h3geo.org/docs/
OSMnx - https://lnkd.in/dm3pHgUS
PyQGIS - https://lnkd.in/dShWyWVr
PySAL - https://pysal.org
Pydeck - https://lnkd.in/dGBFu-iw
Pyproj - https://lnkd.in/dNG9fdkm
RTree - https://lnkd.in/dURMiYpU
Rasterio - https://lnkd.in/dEMC6ve6
Scikit-mobility - https://lnkd.in/dpHhaX2J
Shapely - https://lnkd.in/d568datK

These tools offer a wide range of capabilities for working with geospatial data, from visualizing and manipulating data to performing complex analysis and modeling. Whether you are a data scientist, GIS specialist, or geospatial enthusiast, these tools are sure to enhance your work and help you achieve your goals.

NGenomeSyn: an easy-to-use and flexible tool for publication-ready visualization of syntenic relationships across multiple genomes

LEGE — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 04:54:55 -0500

NGenomeSyn: an easy-to-use and flexible tool for publication-ready visualization of syntenic relationships across multiple genomes

NGenomeSyn [multiple (N) Genome Synteny], for publication-ready visualization of syntenic relationships of the whole genome or local region and genomic features (e.g. repeats, structural variations, genes) across multiple genomes with a high customization. NGenomeSyn provides an easy way for its users to visualize a large amount of data with a rich layout by simply adjusting options for moving, scaling, and rotation of target genomes. Moreover, NGenomeSyn could be applied on the visualization of relationships on non-genomic data with similar input formats.

https://academic.oup.com/bioinformatics/article/39/3/btad121/7072460

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/hewm2008/NGenomeSyn

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY APPROACH TO MODEL INFLAMMATION IN HUMAN (2).pptx

ROSHNI — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 00:54:13 -0500

Reference Sequence Resource!

LEGE — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 21:15:22 -0500

The ENCODE project uses Reference Genomes from NCBI or UCSC to provide a consistent framework for mapping high-throughput sequencing data. In general, ENCODE data are mapped consistently to 2 human (GRCH38, hg19) and 2 mouse (mm9/mm10) genomes for historical comparability. Drosophia melanogaster experiments are mapped to either dm3 or dm6 and Caenorhabdilis elegans experiments are mapped to ce10 or ce11. T

Address of the bookmark: https://www.encodeproject.org/data-standards/reference-sequences/

Public Databases for Bioinformatics !

Jit — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 05:32:15 -0500

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17155-y

Server Infrastructure:

File Server:

dhara: Synology 3614 Storage Appliance
4 Core Xeon
108TB disk storage
10Gb ethernet to SCG3
Access atx: dhara:5000
Has btsync server (try it - its much better than dropbox)

Compute Servers:

nandi: Kundaje and Phi Server
24 intel cores
256GB RAM
500GB of SSD storage 
36TB RAID6 local storage
4 Intel Phi's (space for 4 more GPU's)


durga: Montgomery and sensitive data
24 intel cores
256GB RAM
500GB of SSD RAID0 storage 
60TB RAID6 local storage

mitra: Bassik and Web/DB Server
24 core
256GB RAM 
500GB of SSD RAID0 storage 
36TB RAID6 local storage

vayu: Kundaje GPU server
4 core
64GB RAM 
200GB of SSD storage 
8TB RAID10 local storage
4 Nvidia GTX 970 4GB GPUs

amold: Bickel and SGE server
32 AMD core
128GB RAM 
200GB of SSD storage 
12TB RAID5 local storage

wotan: Bickel and SGE server
64 AMD core
256GB RAM 
200GB of SSD storage 
12TB RAID5 local storage

Filesystem:

/users/$USER
default home directory
full backups nightly 
nfs mount to dhara
should store code, papers, and other highly processed data here

/mnt/data/
globally accessible data
should store common data here
e.g. genomes and indexes, annotations, ENCODE data  
if you dont want this to count towards your quote you must chown

/mnt/lab_data/$LAB/
lab accessible data
should store lab project data here 
e.g. ATAC-seq prediction data, enhancer prediction, motif calls

/srv/scratch/$USER
fast local storage
not backed up, but on raid and data will never be deleted
most analysis should be performed here

/srv/persistent/$USER
fast local storage
synced nightly, but not backed up
       ie if the hard drives fail or you delete something and notice 
       within 24 hours we can recover. Otherwise not. (vs home which is 
       properly backed up )  
intermediate analysis products that would be hard to recover should be stored here 
       e.g. stochastic analysis results that need to be kept so that paper 
       results can be reproduced

/srv/www/$LABNAME/
web accessible from mitra.stanford.edu
*NOT BACKED UP*

Some parallel programming patterns:

# gzip a bunch of files
parallel gzip -- *.FILESTOGZIP

# fork example in python:
(for more detailed examples look at 
 https://github.com/nboley/grit/ grit/lib/multiprocessing_utils.py)

import os
import time
import random

import multiprocessing

class ProcessSafeOPStream( object ):
    def __init__( self, writeable_obj ):
        self.writeable_obj = writeable_obj
        self.lock = multiprocessing.Lock()
        self.name = self.writeable_obj.name
        return
    
    def write( self, data ):
        self.lock.acquire()
        self.writeable_obj.write( data )
        self.writeable_obj.flush()
        self.lock.release()
        return
    
    def close( self ):
        self.writeable_obj.close()

def worker(queue, ofp):
    # Try without this
    random.seed()
    while True:
        i = queue.get()
        if i == 'FINISHED': return
        # simulate an expensive function
        x = random.random()
        time.sleep(x/10)
        print i, x
        ofp.write("%i\t%s\n" % (i, x))

NSIMS = 10000
NPROC = 25

# populate queue
todo = multiprocessing.Queue()
for i in xrange(NSIMS): todo.put(i)
for i in xrange(NPROC): todo.put('FINISHED')

ofp = ProcessSafeOPStream( open("output.txt", "w") )

pids = []
for i in xrange(NPROC):
    pid = os.fork()
    if pid == 0:
       worker(todo, ofp)
       os._exit(0)
    else:
       pids.append(pid)  

for pid in pids:
    os.waitpid(pid, 0)

ofp.close()

print "FINISHED"

For use case 1 we obtained the following ENCODE and ROADMAP datasets https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF446WOD/@@download/ENCFF446WOD.bed.gz, https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF546PJU/@@download/ENCFF546PJU.bam, https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF059BEU/@@download/ENCFF059BEU.bam. Blacklisted regions were obtained from http://mitra.stanford.edu/kundaje/akundaje/release/blacklists/hg38-human/hg38.blacklist.bed.gz. The human genome version hg38 was obtained from http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/bigZips/hg38.fa.gz.

For use case 2 we used the set of narrowPeak files summarized in https://github.com/wkopp/janggu_usecases/tree/master/extra/urls.txt (archived version v1.0.1). The human genome version hg19 was obtained from http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg19/bigZips/hg19.fa.gz

For use case 3 we used the ENCODE datasets https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF591XCX/@@download/ENCFF591XCX.bam, https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF736LHE/@@download/ENCFF736LHE.bigWig, https://www.encodeproject.org/files/ENCFF177HHM/@@download/ENCFF177HHM.bam as we as the GENCODE annotation v29 from ftp://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/gencode/Gencode_human/release_29/gencode.v29.annotation.gtf.gz.

Address of the bookmark: http://mitra.stanford.edu/

5700 year-old human genome !

Jit — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 11:22:18 -0600

A Landmark in genomics, scientists have done something that hasn't been done ever.

Scientists have reconstructed the genome of an ancient human who lived nearly 5,700 years ago in Southern Denmark from the birch pitch- an ancient tar-like substance.

By sequencing the sample, researchers not only discovered the ancient human DNA but also microbial DNA reflecting the oral microbiome of the person who chewed the pitch, along with plant and animal DNA that could be the recent meal she might have consumed.

The DNA sample is comparable in quality to well-preserved teeth and skull bones. The DNA suggests that the chewer was a female, most likely with dark skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13549-9

Artistic reconstruction. (Tom Björklund)

More at https://gizmodo.com/scientists-reconstruct-lola-after-finding-her-dna-in-1840481633

When Chromosomes Shift: Understanding Chromosome Rearrangement and Human Disease

BioStar — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 01:07:17 -0500

In the vast and complex world of genetics, our chromosomes are like carefully arranged bookshelves — each holding critical information that defines who we are. But what happens when those books are shuffled, inverted, or swapped? The answer lies in a phenomenon known as chromosome rearrangement, a powerful force behind many human diseases, from developmental disorders to cancer.

What Are Chromosome Rearrangements?

Chromosome rearrangements are structural changes that alter the normal configuration of chromosomes. These changes can involve large segments of DNA — from thousands to millions of base pairs — and can occur spontaneously, be inherited, or result from exposure to mutagens (like radiation or chemicals).

Common Types of Rearrangements:

Deletions – Loss of a chromosome segment
Duplications – Repetition of a segment
Inversions – A segment breaks off, flips, and reattaches
Translocations – Segments exchange places between non-homologous chromosomes
Insertions – A segment is inserted into another part of the genome

These changes can disrupt genes directly or affect gene regulation, leading to disease.

How Do Chromosome Rearrangements Cause Disease?

The impact of a rearrangement depends on which genes are involved, how much DNA is affected, and when the rearrangement occurs (in development vs. adulthood). Here are some key mechanisms:

Gene disruption: Breaking a gene can lead to loss of function or the creation of a non-functional protein.
Gene fusion: Joining parts of two genes may form a novel hybrid gene with new functions (common in cancer).
Dosage effects: Extra or missing gene copies can disturb the balance of gene expression.
Position effects: Moving a gene to a new regulatory environment may silence or over-activate it.

Chromosome Rearrangements in Human Disease

1. Developmental Disorders

Cri-du-chat syndrome: Caused by a deletion on chromosome 5p. Affected infants often have a high-pitched cry and intellectual disability.
Williams syndrome: Results from a microdeletion on chromosome 7q, affecting genes related to cardiovascular and cognitive function.

2. Cancer

Cancer is perhaps the most striking example of disease caused by chromosome rearrangements.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML): Caused by a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22, forming the Philadelphia chromosome. This creates the BCR-ABL fusion gene, which drives uncontrolled cell growth.
Burkitt lymphoma: Involves translocation of the MYC gene, leading to excessive cell division.
Ewing sarcoma: A fusion of EWSR1 and FLI1 genes through translocation promotes tumor development.

3. Infertility and Miscarriages

Balanced rearrangements (like inversions or translocations) in carriers may not cause disease directly but can result in:

Recurrent miscarriages
Infertility
Birth defects in offspring

Detecting Rearrangements

Thanks to modern genomics, chromosome rearrangements can now be detected with high precision using:

Karyotyping – Classic method for detecting large rearrangements
FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) – Uses fluorescent probes to target specific DNA sequences
Array CGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) – Detects copy number changes across the genome
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) – Identifies even small or complex rearrangements at base-pair resolution

Looking Forward: The Future of Chromosome Medicine

Understanding chromosome rearrangements is now central to:

Personalized medicine
Genetic counseling
Targeted therapies, especially in cancer (e.g., tyrosine kinase inhibitors for BCR-ABL fusion)

With the rise of long-read sequencing and single-cell genomics, even previously “invisible” rearrangements are being uncovered, offering new insights into both rare diseases and common conditions.

Final Thoughts

Chromosome rearrangements remind us that genetics isn't just about which genes we have — but where they are, how they're arranged, and when they're active. As our tools grow sharper, so does our ability to diagnose, understand, and treat diseases rooted in genomic architecture.

In a way, the genome is like a book not just defined by its words, but also by how the chapters are ordered. Rearranging them can create a new story — sometimes harmful, sometimes insightful — and understanding these changes is key to writing a healthier future.