java -jar trimmomatic-0.35.jar PE -phred33 input_forward.fq.gz input_reverse.fq.gz output_forward_paired.fq.gz output_forward_unpaired.fq.gz output_reverse_paired.fq.gz output_reverse_unpaired.fq.gz ILLUMINACLIP:TruSeq3-PE.fa:2:30:10 LEADING:3 TRAILING:3 SLIDINGWINDOW:4:15 MINLEN:36

This will perform the following:

• Remove adapters (ILLUMINACLIP:TruSeq3-PE.fa:2:30:10)
• Remove leading low quality or N bases (below quality 3) (LEADING:3)
• Remove trailing low quality or N bases (below quality 3) (TRAILING:3)
• Scan the read with a 4-base wide sliding window, cutting when the average quality per base drops below 15 (SLIDINGWINDOW:4:15)
• Drop reads below the 36 bases long (MINLEN:36)

More at http://www.usadellab.org/cms/?page=trimmomatic

Address of the bookmark: http://www.usadellab.org/cms/?page=trimmomatic

More at http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/segemehl/

Manual http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/segemehl/segemehl_manual_0_1_7.pdf

Address of the bookmark: http://hoffmann.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/LIFE/segemehl.html

Calculate how much sequencing you need to hit a target depth of coverage (or vice versa).

Instructions: set the read length/configuration and genome size, then select what you want to calculate.

Written by Stephen Turner, based on the Lander-Waterman formula, inspired by a similar calculator written by James Hadfield. Coverage is calculated as C=LN/G and reads as N=CG/L where C = Coverage (X),L = Read length (bp), G = Haploid genome size (bp), and N = Number of reads. Source code on GitHub.

Address of the bookmark: http://apps.bioconnector.virginia.edu/covcalc/

Run Maq Now

Follow these steps to try Maq. All you need is a reference sequence file in the FASTA format.

1. Prepare a reference sequence (ref.fasta). Better a bacterial genome.
2. Download maq, maq-data and maqview at the download page.
3. Copy maq, maq.pl and maq_eval.pl to the $PATH or to the same directory.
4. Simulate diploid reference and read sequences, map reads, call variants and evaluate the results in one go:

   maq.pl demo ref.fasta calib-30.dat
   

   where calib-30.dat is contained in maq-data.
5. View the alignment:

   cd maqdemo/easyrun;
   maqindex -i -c consensus.cns all.map;
   maqview -c consensus.cns all.map

Even for advanced maq users, running `maq.pl demo' is recommended. You may find something helpful.

Address of the bookmark: http://maq.sourceforge.net

Using the reference sequence dictionary (*.dict), it also creates some empty BAM files if no sam record was found for a chromosome. A pair of 'mock' SAM-Records can also be added to those empty BAMs to avoid some tools (like samtools) to crash.

Usage

java -jar splitbam.jar -p OUT/__CHROM__/__CHROM__.bam -R ref.fasta (bam|sam|stdin)

Options

• -h help; This screen.
• -R (indexed reference file) REQUIRED.
• -u (unmapped chromosome name): default:Unmapped
• -e | --empty : generate EMPTY bams for chromosome having no read mapped
• -m | --mock : if option '-e', add a mock pair of sam records to the empty bam
• -p (output file/bam pattern) REQUIRED. MUST contain __CHROM__ and end with .bam
• -s assume input is sorted.
• -x | --index create index.
• -t | --tmp (dir) tmp file directory
• -G (file) chrom-group file (see below)

Address of the bookmark: https://code.google.com/archive/p/jvarkit/wikis/SplitBam.wiki

Address of the bookmark: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3158087/

What is de novo genome assembly?
The method of taking a large number of short DNA sequences and placing them back together to create a reflection of the original chromosomes from which the DNA originated relates to genome assembly. No previous knowledge of the source DNA sequence length, structure or composition is inferred by De novo genome assemblies. The DNA of the target organism is split up into millions of tiny parts and read on a sequencing computer in a genome sequencing experiment. Depending on the sequencing system used, these "reads" range from 20 to 1000 nucleotide base pairs (bp) in length. Usually, length reads of 36 - 150 bp are produced for Illumina style short read sequencing. These reads can be either “single ended” as described above or “paired end.”

Why genome assembly?
In basic research into why and how they live, as well as in applied topics, identifying the DNA sequence of an organism is useful. Awareness of a DNA sequence may be useful in virtually any biological research because of the relevance of DNA to living things. For example, it may be used in medicine to classify, diagnose and eventually improve genetic disorder therapies. Similarly, pathogens study can lead to treatments for infectious diseases.

Raw NGS data
Reads can be saved as a Fasta file as text or in a FastQ file with their attributes. FastQ is the most common read file format since this is what the Illumina sequencing pipeline creates. This will henceforth be the subject of our conversation.

In a nutshell the protocol:
Get the sequence file(s) read from the sequencing machine (s).
Look at the readings - have an idea of what you have and what the standard is like.
If required, raw data cleanup/quality trimming.
Choose an adequate parameter set for assembly.
Assemble the data into scaffolds/contigs.
Examine the assembly performance and determine the efficiency of the assembly.

Read Quality Control:
Check the qualiy with fastQC.
Script
https://bioinformaticsonline.com/snippets/view/42540/install-fastqc-using-conda

Quality trimming/cleanup of read files.
This function trims adapters, barcodes and other contaminants from the reads.
Script
https://bioinformaticsonline.com/snippets/view/42542/trimmomatic-command

Genome Assembly:
The object of this portion of the protocol is to explain the method of assembling the reads trimmed by quality into draft contigs.

spades.py -1 illumina_R1.fastq.gz -2 illumina_R2.fastq.gz --careful --cov-cutoff auto -o result_of_spades_assembly_all_illumina

A significant range of short-read assemblers are available. Everyone with strengths and disadvantages of their own.
Some of the assemblers available include:
Velvet
SOAP-denovo
MIRA
ALLPATHS

Next step is to assess the suitability and what to do with a draft package of contiguous details for the remainder of the study now. Few stuff you can note about the contigs you just created: They're the draft Contigs. Any mis-assemblies can occur.

Mis-assembly checking and assembly metric tools:
QUAST - Quality assessment tool for genome assembly http://bioinf.spbau.ru/quast
Mauve assembly metrics - http://code.google.com/p/ngopt/wiki/How_To_Score_Genome_Assemblies_with_Mauve
InGAP-SV - https://sites.google.com/site/nextgengenomics/ingap and http://ingap.sourceforge.net/
inGAP is also useful for finding structural variants between genomes from read mappings.

Genome finishing tools:
Semi-automated gap fillers:
Gap filler - http://www.baseclear.com/landingpages/basetools-a-wide-range-of-bioinformatics-solutions/gapfiller/

IMAGE (V2) - http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/image2/index.php?title=Main_Page

Genome visualisers and editors:
Artemis - http://www.sanger.ac.uk/resources/software/artemis/
IGV - http://www.broadinstitute.org/igv/

Automated and semi automated annotation tools:
Prokka - https://github.com/tseemann/prokka
RAST - http://www.nmpdr.org/FIG/wiki/view.cgi/FIG/RapidAnnotationServer
JCVI Annotation Service - http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/annotation-service/

Frequent command use for the analysis are at:

https://bioinformaticsonline.com/blog/view/38765/list-of-tools-frequently-used-while-genome-assembly
https://bioinformaticsonline.com/pages/view/42275/frequent-parameters-for-bioinformatics-tools

The "Ifs" of NGS QC and Trimming

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

SiLiX adopts a graph-theoretical framework to interpret similarity pairs as edges of a network. A very efficient algorithm, based on the Disjoint Sets Data Structure, allows the computation of sequence families with low time and space requirements.

A parallel version of SiLiX, based on MPI, is also available in this package and has been proved to be scalable, so that its allows the study of very large datasets.

SiLiX is already included in the analysis pipeline for HOGENOM.

Address of the bookmark: http://lbbe.univ-lyon1.fr/SiLiX?lang=fr

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/AdamCicherski/AlfaPang