BOL: Related items

Katju Lab

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 03:25:32 -0600

TheLab seek to understand the genetic factors contributing to genomic variation and phenotypic diversity. To this end, we employ molecular and bioinformatic tools to study evolutionary processes at the level of populations, both experimental and natural, and genomes. Our research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including the evolution of organellar and nuclear genomes, gene duplication and the origin of novel function, and the fitness and phenotypic consequences of mutation in evolution. For details regards ongoing projects, please see the Research page.

http://katjulab.com/research.html

BUSCO

Jitendra Narayan — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 16:02:39 -0600

Assessing genome assembly and annotation completeness with Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs

More at http://busco.ezlab.org/

Address of the bookmark: http://busco.ezlab.org/

RCircos: an R package for Circos 2D track plots

Jit — Fri, 20 May 2016 11:01:13 -0500

RCircos package provides a simple and flexible way to make Circos 2D track plots with R and could be easily integrated into other R data processing and graphic manipulation pipelines for presenting large-scale multi-sample genomic research data. It can also serve as a base tool to generate complex Circos images.

More at https://bitbucket.org/henryhzhang/rcircos/src

Address of the bookmark: https://bitbucket.org/henryhzhang/rcircos/src

Understanding Greedy Algorithms

Jit — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 04:37:40 -0600

Learning greedy algo for biologist.

https://www.topcoder.com/community/data-science/data-science-tutorials/greedy-is-good/

This webpage is also useful for the same:

http://learninglover.com/examples.php?id=59

http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~magdon/ps/conference/super_biokdd.pdf

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-91j-foundations-of-computational-and-systems-biology-spring-2014/lecture-slides/MIT7_91JS14_Lecture6.pdf

http://schatzlab.cshl.edu/teaching/AssemblyClass/01.%20Assembly%20Intro.pdf

http://lsl.sinica.edu.tw/Services/Class/files/20150612449.pdf

http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~langmea/resources/lecture_notes/assembly_scs.pdf

https://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2016/EECS-2016-43.pdf

Address of the bookmark: https://www.topcoder.com/community/data-science/data-science-tutorials/greedy-is-good/

pyScaf

Bulbul — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 14:20:33 -0600

pyScaf orders contigs from genome assemblies utilising several types of information:

paired-end (PE) and/or mate-pair libraries (NGS-based mode)
long reads (NGS-based mode)
synteny to the genome of some related species (reference-based mode)

Scaffolding

In reference-based mode, pyScaf uses synteny to the genome of closely related species in order to order contigs and estimate distances between adjacent contigs.

Contigs are aligned globally (end-to-end) onto reference chromosomes, ignoring:

matches not satisfying cut-offs (--identity and --overlap)
suboptimal matches (only best match of each query to reference is kept)
and removing overlapping matches on reference.

In preliminary tests, pyScaf performed superbly on simulated heterozygous genomes based on C. parapsilosis (13 Mb; CANPA) and A. thaliana (119 Mb; ARATH) chromosomes, reconstructing correctly all chromosomes always for CANPA and nearly always for ARATH (Figures in dropbox, CANPA table, ARATH table).
Runs took ~0.5 min for CANPA on 4 CPUs and ~2 min for ARATH on 16 CPUs.

Important remarks:

Reduce your assembly before (fasta2homozygous.py) as any redundancy will likely break the synteny.
pyScaf works better with contigs than scaffolds, as scaffolds are often affected by mis-assemblies (no de novo assembler / scaffolder is perfect...), which breaks synteny.
pyScaf works very well if divergence between reference genome and assembled contigs is below 20% at nucleotide level.
pyScaf deals with large rearrangements ie. deletions, insertion, inversions, translocations. Note however, this is experimental implementation!
Consider closing gaps after scaffolding.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/lpryszcz/pyScaf

PANDASEQ

Shruti Paniwala — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 04:54:32 -0600

PANDASEQ assembles paired-end Illumina reads into sequences, trying to correct for errors and uncalled bases. The assembler reads two files in FASTQ format with quality information. If amplification primers were used (e.g., to isolate a variable region of the 16S gene, or the constant regions around zinc finger binding residues), they can be removed from the sequence during assembly. The final sequence will correct any uncalled bases in the overlapping region using the complementary strand. When mismatches occur in the overlapping region, the base with the better quality score is chosen.
The algorithm is as follows:

1.Find the positions where the forward and reverse primers match best above the threshold and discard the ends of the sequence, including the primer.
2.Pick and overlap to maximise the probability of the forward and reverse reads having come from a single piece of DNA.
3.Identify the masking of the end of the read with the quality score B or # as done by CASAVA and adjust the probabilities in this region.
4.Construct an assembled sequence between the primers and calculate the quality.
5.Check for various constraints, including quality, length, uncalled bases, and user-supplied modules.

http://neufeldserver.uwaterloo.ca/~apmasell/pandaseq_man1.html

Address of the bookmark: http://neufeldserver.uwaterloo.ca/~apmasell/pandaseq_man1.html

Salzberg lab

Mon, 15 May 2017 05:14:01 -0500

We are a computational biology lab that develops novel methods for analysis of DNA and RNA sequences. Our research includes software for aligning and assembling RNA-seq data, whole-genome assembly, and microbiome analysis. We work closely with biomedical scientists to apply these methods to current problems arising in a broad spectrum of biological and medical research areas. We’re also part of the Center for Computational Biology, a group of 20+ faculty members and their labs at Johns Hopkins working on computational, statistical, and mathematical methods that can turn massive genomic data sets into biologically and clinically useful information.

https://salzberg-lab.org/

fragScaff: Genome Assembly with Contiguity Preserving Transposition

Jit — Mon, 14 May 2018 04:28:14 -0500

Contiguity preserving transposition and sequencing (CPT-seq) is an entirely in vitro means of generating libraries comprised of 9216 indexed pools, each of which contains thousands of sparsely sequenced long fragments ranging from 5 kilobases to >1 megabase. This software, fragScaff, leverages coincidences between the content of different pools as a source of contiguity information for scaffolding de novo genome assemblies. FragScaff is complementary to Lachesis, providing midrange contiguity to support robust, accurate chromosome-scale de novo genome assemblies without the need for laborious in vivo cloning steps.

Further information about fragScaff, including source code, is available at:https://sourceforge.net/projects/fragscaff/files.

Manuscript describing fragScaff was published as: Adey A, Kitzman JO, Burton JN, Daza R, Kumar A, Christiansen L, Ronaghi M, Amini S, L Gunderson K, Steemers FJ, Shendure J#. In vitro, long-range sequence information for de novo genome assembly via transposase contiguity. Genome Research 2014 Dec;24(12):2041-9. doi: 10.1101/gr.178319.114. PubMed PMID: 25327137.

Address of the bookmark: https://sourceforge.net/projects/fragscaff/files/

ALE: a Generic Assembly Likelihood Evaluation Framework for Assessing the Accuracy of Genome and Metagenome Assemblies

Neel — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 03:38:43 -0500

Assembly Likelihood Evaluation (ALE) framework that overcomes these limitations, systematically evaluating the accuracy of an assembly in a reference-independent manner using rigorous statistical methods. This framework is comprehensive, and integrates read quality, mate pair orientation and insert length (for paired-end reads), sequencing coverage, read alignment and k-mer frequency. ALE pinpoints synthetic errors in both single and metagenomic assemblies, including single-base errors, insertions/deletions, genome rearrangements and chimeric assemblies presented in metagenomes. At the genome level with real-world data, ALE identifies three large misassemblies from the Spirochaeta smaragdinae finished genome, which were all independently validated by Pacific Biosciences sequencing. At the single-base level with Illumina data, ALE recovers 215 of 222 (97%) single nucleotide variants in a training set from a GC-rich Rhodobacter sphaeroides genome. Using real Pacific Biosciences data, ALE identifies 12 of 12 synthetic errors in a Lambda Phage genome, surpassing even Pacific Biosciences' own variant caller, EviCons. In summary, the ALE framework provides a comprehensive, reference-independent and statistically rigorous measure of single genome and metagenome assembly accuracy, which can be used to identify misassemblies or to optimize the assembly process.

More at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23303509

Address of the bookmark: http://sc932.github.io/ALE/about.html

The "Ifs" and "Buts" of NGS Quality Control and Trimming

BioStar — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 20:11:07 -0600

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized biological research, providing vast amounts of data for a wide range of applications. However, the reliability of NGS analyses heavily depends on the quality of raw sequencing data. Quality control (QC) and trimming are critical preprocessing steps that can make or break your downstream analyses. In this blog, we explore the "ifs" (why you should perform QC and trimming) and the "buts" (challenges or considerations) of this vital step in NGS workflows.

The "Ifs" of NGS QC and Trimming

Ensures Data Integrity
If you want to minimize errors in downstream analyses, QC and trimming remove low-quality reads and bases, ensuring high-confidence data. This step is essential for reliable variant calling, assembly, and other applications.
Removes Contaminants
If adapter sequences or contaminants are present in the raw reads, trimming can eliminate them. This prevents issues like misalignment or incorrect biological interpretations, ensuring cleaner data for analysis.
Improves Mapping and Assembly
If your goal is better alignment to a reference genome or improved de novo assembly, trimming low-quality bases and adapters is critical. High-quality reads map more efficiently and generate more accurate assemblies.
Reduces Computational Load
If you want to save computational resources, trimming reduces the dataset size, which speeds up processing and analysis. Clean datasets mean less computational time spent on processing low-quality data.
Prepares for Standardized Analyses
If your project involves multiple datasets, QC and trimming ensure uniformity across them. This standardization makes comparisons valid and reproducible, particularly in large collaborative studies.

The "Buts" of NGS QC and Trimming

Risk of Over-Trimming
But excessive trimming can lead to the loss of informative sequences, reducing read depth and potentially discarding biologically relevant data. This is especially critical in studies with limited sequencing depth.
Bias Introduction
But trimming algorithms might introduce biases, especially if they inadvertently remove sequences with specific biological patterns. This can skew results and compromise biological insights.
Loss of Context in Paired-End Reads
But trimming one read in a pair more than the other can lead to loss of pairing information. This complicates downstream analyses that rely on paired-end data, such as structural variant detection.
Time and Resource Intensive
But running QC and trimming for large datasets can be computationally expensive and time-consuming. As sequencing depth increases, preprocessing becomes a bottleneck in the analysis pipeline.
Variable Standards
But the criteria for trimming (e.g., quality threshold, minimum read length) can vary between tools and datasets. This variability may affect reproducibility and comparability of results across studies.

Balancing the "Ifs" and "Buts"

To maximize the benefits of QC and trimming while mitigating the challenges, consider the following best practices:

Use QC Tools Wisely: Start with tools like FastQC to identify quality issues in your raw data. Visualizing quality metrics helps tailor your trimming parameters.
Choose Reliable Trimming Tools: Tools like Trimmomatic, Cutadapt, and BBduk offer adaptive and customizable trimming options. Select one that aligns with your dataset and project goals.
Set Reasonable Parameters: Avoid over-trimming by setting quality thresholds and minimum read lengths that balance data retention and quality improvement.
Test Downstream Effects: Validate the impact of QC and trimming on downstream analyses, such as alignment efficiency, variant calling accuracy, or assembly quality.
Document Your Workflow: Maintain detailed records of the parameters and tools used for QC and trimming. This ensures reproducibility and enables better troubleshooting.

Conclusion

NGS quality control and trimming are essential steps to ensure reliable and accurate data for analysis. While the "ifs" highlight the clear benefits of these steps, the "buts" remind us of the potential pitfalls. By adopting best practices and carefully balancing these considerations, you can optimize your preprocessing workflow and unlock the full potential of your sequencing data.