BOL: Related items

OPERA : Optimal Paired-End Read Assembler

Jit — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 05:28:58 -0500

OPERA (Optimal Paired-End Read Assembler) is a sequence assembly program (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence_assembly). It uses information from paired-end/mate-pair/long reads to order and orient the intermediate contigs/scaffolds assembled in a genome assembly project, in a process known as Scaffolding. OPERA is based on an exact algorithm that is guaranteed to minimize the discordance of scaffolds with the information provided by the paired-end/mate-pair/long reads (for further details see Gao et al, 2011).

Note that since the original publication, we have made significant changes to OPERA (v1.0 onwards) including refinements to its basic algorithm (to reduce local errors, improve efficiency etc.) and incorporated features that are important for scaffolding large genomes (multi-library support, better repeat-handling etc.), in addition to other scalability and usability improvements (bam and gzip support, smaller memory footprint). We therefore encourage you to download and use our latest version: OPERA-LG. In our benchmarks, it has significantly improved corrected N50 and reduced the number of scaffolding errors. Furthermore, our latest release contains the wrapper script OPERA-long-read that enables scaffolding with long-reads from third-generation sequencing technologies (PacBio or Oxford Nanopore). The manuscript describing the new features and algorithms is available at Genome Biology. We look forward to getting your feedback to improve it further.

Address of the bookmark: https://sourceforge.net/p/operasf/wiki/The%20OPERA%20wiki/

Ribbon !!

Jit — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 04:54:30 -0500

Visualization has played an extremely important role in the current genomic revolution to inspect and understand variants, expression patterns, evolutionary changes, and a number of other relationships. However, most of the information in read-to-reference or genome-genome alignments is lost for structural variations in the one-dimensional views of most genome browsers showing only reference coordinates. Instead, structural variations captured by long reads or assembled contigs often need more context to understand, including alignments and other genomic information from multiple chromosomes. We have addressed this problem by creating Ribbon (genomeribbon.com) an interactive online visualization tool that displays alignments along both reference and query sequences, along with any associated variant calls in the sample. This way Ribbon shows patterns in alignments of many reads across multiple chromosomes, while allowing detailed inspection of individual reads (Supplementary Note 1). For example, here we show a gene fusion in the SK-BR-3 breast cancer cell line linking the genes CYTH1 and EIF3H. While it has been found in the transcriptome previously, genome sequencing did not identify a direct chromosomal fusion between these two genes. After SMRT sequencing, Ribbon shows that there are indeed long reads that span from one gene to the other, going through not one but two variants, for the first time showing the genomic link between these two genes (Figure 1a). More gene fusions of this cancer cell line are investigated in Supplementary Note 2. Figure 1b shows another complex event in this sample made simple in Ribbon: the translocation of a 4.4 kb sequence deleted from chr19 and inserted into chr16 (Figure 1b). Thus, Ribbon enables understanding of complex variants, and it may also help in the detection of sequencing and sample preparation issues, testing of aligners and variant-callers, and rapid curation of structural variant candidates (Supplementary Note 3). In addition to SAM and BAM files with long, short, or paired-end reads, Ribbon can also load coordinate files from whole genome aligners such as MUMmer. Therefore, Ribbon can be used to test assembly algorithms or inspect the similarity between species. Supplementary Note 4 shows a comparison of gorilla and human genomes using Ribbon, highlighting major structural differences. In conclusion, Ribbon is a powerful interactive web tool for viewing complex genomic alignments.

Script at https://github.com/MariaNattestad/ribbon

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

eFORGE.v1.2

Jit — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 09:06:59 -0500

The eFORGE tool provides a method to view the tissue specific regulatory component of a set of EWAS DMPs. eFORGE analysis takes a set of DMPs, such as those hits above genome-wide significance threshold in an EWAS study, and analyses whether there is enrichment for overlap of putative functional elements compared to matched background DMPs. It assesses enrichment on a per cell type basis, since functional elements are differentially active in different cell types, and hence can expose tissue-specific signals of enrichment for the given test DMP set. This can reveal the sites of action underlying the EWAS signal, and provide confirmation of the validity of the EWAS where a tissue-specific mechanism is known or expected for the phenotype. Conversely unknown tissue involvements can also be revealed.

Address of the bookmark: http://eforge.cs.ucl.ac.uk/eFORGE.v1.2/?documentation

R Graphical Cookbook by Winston Chang

Abhimanyu Singh — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 12:50:30 -0500

R Graphical Cookbook by Winston Chang

A very nice book by Winston Chang for R ethusiast. The R code presented in these pages is the R code actually used to produce the Figures in the book. There will be differences compared to the code chunks shown in the text of the book, but in most cases the differences will be that these pages contain additional code to lay out multiple plots on a single "page".

The code presented for each figure is self-contained, i.e., all code required to produce the figure is included. This means that there is sometimes considerable overlap of code between several figures In some cases, it may be necessary to install an add-on package from CRAN to get the code to run.

More books at http://www.e-reading.club/bookreader.php/137370/C486x_APPb.pdf

Bookmarks Biostatistics materials and books

Jit — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 07:42:42 -0600

Biostatistics did not spring fully formed from the brow of R. A. Fisher, but evolved over many years. This process is continuing, although it may not be obvious from the outside. It has been ten years since the first edition of this book appeared (and rather longer since it was begun). Over this time, new areas of biostatistics have been developed and emphases and interpretations have changed

Please bookmarks your favourate biostatistics books in commend sectons ...

Address of the bookmark: http://www.cos.ufrj.br/~bioestatistica/livros/Introduction%20to%20Biostatistics.pdf

Minia

Jit — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 05:07:00 -0600

Minia is a short-read assembler based on a de Bruijn graph, capable of assembling a human genome on a desktop computer in a day. The output of Minia is a set of contigs. Minia produces results of similar contiguity and accuracy to other de Bruijn assemblers (e.g. Velvet).

Download

Minia 2.0.7 Linux 64-bits binaries (Source code) (Legacy codebase)

For the impatient

A typical Minia command line looks like:

./minia -in reads.fa -kmer-size 31 -abundance-min 3 -out output_prefix

Type

./minia

for a quick explanation of the parameters.

For more information, refer to the manual.

KmerGenie can be used to determine the best k-mer size, minimum abundance of correct k-mers, and genome size estimation for your dataset.

Address of the bookmark: http://minia.genouest.org/

Velvet tutorial

Poonam Mahapatra — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:19:07 -0600

The objective of this activity is to help you understand how to run Velvet in general, how to accurately estimate the insert size of a paired-end library through the use of Bowtie, the primary parameters of velvet, and the process involved in producing a de novo assembly from Illumina reads.

http://evomics.org/learning/assembly-and-alignment/velvet/

Address of the bookmark: http://evomics.org/learning/assembly-and-alignment/velvet/

MCscan

Bulbul — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 03:53:58 -0600

MCscan is a computer program that can simultaneously scan multiple genomes to identify homologous chromosomal regions and subsequently align these regions using genes as anchors. This is the toolset for generating the synteny correspondences in Plant Genome Duplication Database. It is intended as an easy-to-use and quick way to identify conserved gene arrays both within the same genome and across different genomes.

More at http://chibba.agtec.uga.edu/duplication/mcscan/

Address of the bookmark: http://chibba.agtec.uga.edu/duplication/mcscan/

GKNO

Jit — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 03:35:34 -0600

gkno opens the world of complex bioinformatic analysis to people of all level of computational expertise. This site contains documentation, tutorials and information on all the tools that comprise gkno.

More at http://gkno.me/

Address of the bookmark: http://gkno.me/

RNA-Seq Analysis: A Guide for Bioinformaticians

LEGE — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 22:22:24 -0600

RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) has revolutionized transcriptomics, offering unprecedented insights into gene expression, splicing, and transcript diversity. For bioinformaticians, RNA-Seq analysis is a gateway to exploring the complexity of RNA biology and its implications in health and disease. This blog post provides an overview of RNA-Seq analysis, key computational steps, and tools for bioinformaticians eager to delve into this powerful technique.

What is RNA-Seq?

RNA-Seq is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology used to study the transcriptome—the complete set of RNA molecules in a cell. It quantifies gene expression, detects novel transcripts, and captures alternative splicing events with high sensitivity and resolution.

Workflow for RNA-Seq Analysis

RNA-Seq analysis involves several stages, each requiring computational tools and expertise.

1. Experimental Design and Data Acquisition

Before diving into analysis, bioinformaticians should consider:

Biological Replicates: Ensure statistical power to detect meaningful differences.
Sequencing Depth: Align sequencing depth to study objectives (e.g., higher depth for low-abundance transcripts).
Paired-End vs. Single-End: Paired-end sequencing provides more detailed information on transcript structure.

Once sequencing is complete, raw data is provided in FASTQ format, containing sequence reads and quality scores.

2. Quality Control and Preprocessing

Quality control (QC) ensures data integrity. Tools such as FastQC evaluate metrics like base quality, GC content, and adapter contamination.

Preprocessing Steps:

Trimming: Tools like Trimmomatic or Cutadapt remove low-quality bases and adapter sequences.
Filtering: Discard reads below a certain quality threshold or length.

3. Read Alignment

Reads are mapped to a reference genome or transcriptome to determine their origin. Alignment tools include:

HISAT2: Handles large genomes efficiently and supports spliced alignments.
STAR: High-speed aligner optimized for RNA-Seq.
Bowtie2: Suitable for short-read alignment.

Output: A SAM/BAM file containing aligned reads.

4. Transcript Assembly and Quantification

This step involves identifying transcripts and quantifying their expression levels. Tools used include:

StringTie: Assembles and quantifies transcripts from aligned reads.
Salmon/Kallisto: Perform pseudo-alignment for rapid and accurate quantification.

Expression levels are typically measured as TPM (transcripts per million) or FPKM (fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads).

5. Differential Expression Analysis

To identify genes with altered expression between conditions, bioinformaticians use tools such as:

DESeq2: Accounts for data normalization and variability.
edgeR: Handles overdispersed count data efficiently.
Limma-voom: Combines linear modeling with RNA-Seq count data.

The output includes a list of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with statistical significance and fold-change values.

6. Functional Annotation and Pathway Analysis

Understanding the biological significance of DEGs involves:

Gene Ontology (GO) Analysis: Tools like DAVID or clusterProfiler categorize genes based on their biological functions.
Pathway Enrichment Analysis: Identifies pathways enriched in DEGs using tools like KEGG, Reactome, or GSEA.

7. Visualization

Visualizing results enhances interpretability. Common visualizations include:

Heatmaps: Show expression patterns across samples (e.g., pheatmap).
Volcano Plots: Highlight significant DEGs (e.g., ggplot2).
PCA/UMAP: Assess sample clustering and variability (e.g., Seurat).

Challenges in RNA-Seq Analysis

Batch Effects: Technical variability can confound biological signals. Combat this with normalization techniques or batch-correction tools like ComBat.
Low-Quality Samples: Poor-quality RNA impacts downstream analyses.
Computational Complexity: RNA-Seq generates massive datasets, requiring robust computing resources and optimized pipelines.

Key Tools and Resources

Bioconductor: A treasure trove of R packages for RNA-Seq analysis.
Galaxy: A web-based platform for running RNA-Seq workflows.
Nextflow/Snakemake: Workflow management tools to streamline analyses.

Applications of RNA-Seq

RNA-Seq is used in diverse research areas, including:

Cancer Transcriptomics: Identifying tumor-specific expression profiles.
Developmental Biology: Studying dynamic transcriptome changes.
Drug Discovery: Screening genes modulated by therapeutic compounds.

Conclusion

RNA-Seq analysis is a cornerstone of modern transcriptomics, offering bioinformaticians a versatile toolkit for unraveling gene expression and regulation. Mastering RNA-Seq workflows and tools empowers researchers to transform raw sequencing data into biological discoveries.

Whether you’re investigating disease mechanisms, exploring cellular pathways, or developing new therapeutics, RNA-Seq is a powerful ally in your bioinformatics arsenal.