BOL: Related items

Genome Assembly Workshop 2020

Jit — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 04:30:32 -0500

Our team offers custom bioinformatics services to academic and private organizations. We have a strong academic background with a focus on cutting edge, open source software. We replicate standard analysis pipelines (best practices) when appropriate, and/or develop novel applications and pipelines when needed, however we always emphasize biological interpretation of the data.

More at https://ucdavis-bioinformatics-training.github.io/

Address of the bookmark: https://ucdavis-bioinformatics-training.github.io/2020-Genome_Assembly_Workshop/snakemake/snakemake_intro

NCBI Datasets pages

BioStar — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:29:31 -0500

Update! Assembly and Genome record pages now redirect to new NCBI Datasets pages. NCBI Datasets is a new resource that makes it easier to find and download genome data. Learn more: https://ncbiinsights.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2023/07/11/ncbi-datasets-genome-assembly-pages/ #NCBICGR

Effective July 10, 2023, NCBI’s Assembly and Genome record pages now redirect to new NCBI Datasets pages. As previously announced, these updates are part of our ongoing effort to modernize and improve your user experience. NCBI Datasets is a new resource that makes it easier to find and download genome data.  

The following pages have been updated:

The NCBI Assembly record pages now redirect to the new NCBI Datasets Genome record pages that describe assembled genomes and provide links to related NCBI tools such as Genome Data Viewer and BLAST. 
The NCBI Genome record pages now redirect to the NCBI Datasets Taxonomy record pages that provide a taxonomy-focused portal to genes, genomes, and additional NCBI resources.

During this transition, you will have the option to return to the legacy Genome and Assembly record pages. We will remove the legacy pages in early 2024. 

Step-by-Step Guide to Running Genome Assembly

Abhi — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:35:55 -0600

Genome assembly is a critical process in bioinformatics, enabling the reconstruction of an organism's genome from short DNA sequence reads. Whether you’re working on a new microbial genome or a complex eukaryotic organism, this guide will walk you through the steps of genome assembly using state-of-the-art tools and best practices.

What is Genome Assembly?

Genome assembly involves piecing together short DNA sequence reads generated by sequencing platforms (e.g., Illumina, PacBio, Oxford Nanopore) into longer, contiguous sequences called contigs. This can be performed as:

De Novo Assembly: Without a reference genome.
Reference-Guided Assembly: Using a reference genome to guide the assembly process.

Step 1: Preparing Your Data

Before starting the assembly, ensure that your raw sequencing data is high quality.

Input Data
- Short Reads: Illumina sequencing generates short, accurate reads ideal for scaffolding.
- Long Reads: PacBio and Nanopore sequencing provide long reads for resolving repetitive regions.
Quality Control (QC)
Use tools like FastQC or MultiQC to assess the quality of your reads:

fastqc reads.fastq multiqc .

Look for issues like low-quality bases, adapter contamination, or overrepresented sequences.
Read Trimming and Filtering
Trim low-quality bases and adapters using Trimmomatic or Cutadapt:

trimmomatic PE reads_R1.fastq reads_R2.fastq trimmed_R1.fastq trimmed_R2.fastq \ ILLUMINACLIP:adapters.fa:2:30:10 LEADING:3 TRAILING:3 SLIDINGWINDOW:4:20 MINLEN:36

Step 2: Choosing an Assembly Strategy

Select an assembly strategy based on your data type:

Short-Read Assemblers:
- SPAdes: Popular for microbial genomes.
- Velvet: Fast for smaller genomes.
Long-Read Assemblers:
- Canu: Ideal for long-read datasets.
- Flye: Versatile for small and large genomes.
Hybrid Assemblers:
- MaSuRCA: Combines short and long reads.
- Unicycler: Optimized for bacterial genomes.

Step 3: Running the Assembly

3.1. SPAdes (Short-Read Assembly)

SPAdes is an excellent choice for small genomes, such as bacteria.

spades.py -1 trimmed_R1.fastq -2 trimmed_R2.fastq -o spades_output

The output includes assembled contigs (contigs.fasta) and scaffolds (scaffolds.fasta).

3.2. Canu (Long-Read Assembly)

Canu is designed for high-error long reads from PacBio or Nanopore.

canu -p genome -d canu_output genomeSize=4.7m -nanopore-raw reads.fastq

The output will be in canu_output/genome.contigs.fasta.

3.3. Hybrid Assembly with Unicycler

Unicycler combines short and long reads for improved assemblies.

unicycler -1 trimmed_R1.fastq -2 trimmed_R2.fastq -l long_reads.fastq -o unicycler_output

Step 4: Assessing Assembly Quality

After assembly, evaluate its quality using the following tools:

QUAST
QUAST generates assembly statistics, such as N50, genome size, and GC content:

quast contigs.fasta -o quast_output
BUSCO
BUSCO checks genome completeness by identifying conserved genes:

busco -i contigs.fasta -o busco_output -l fungi_odb10 -m genome
Assembly Graph Visualization
Visualize assembly graphs with Bandage:

Bandage load assembly_graph.gfa

Step 5: Post-Assembly Steps

Polishing
Improve assembly accuracy using tools like Pilon (for short reads) or Racon (for long reads).

racon long_reads.fasta mapped_reads.sam contigs.fasta > polished_contigs.fasta
Scaffolding
Link contigs into scaffolds using tools like SSPACE or Opera-LG if required.
Annotation
Annotate the assembled genome using Prokka for prokaryotes or Maker for eukaryotes.

prokka --outdir annotation_output --prefix genome contigs.fasta

Step 6: Sharing and Archiving

Submit to Public Repositories
Share your assembly in databases like NCBI GenBank, ENA, or DDBJ.
Metadata Preparation
Include detailed metadata for your submission, such as organism name, sequencing platform, and coverage.

Best Practices

Always perform quality checks at each stage to ensure data integrity.
Use multiple tools to cross-validate results when working with complex genomes.
Document parameters and software versions for reproducibility.

Conclusion

Genome assembly is a powerful process that transforms raw sequencing data into a coherent representation of an organism’s genome. By following this step-by-step guide, you can successfully assemble genomes and uncover valuable biological insights. Whether you’re assembling a microbial genome or tackling the complexities of a eukaryotic genome, these tools and strategies will set you on the path to success.

ClinCNV: Detection of copy number changes in Germline/Trio/Somatic contexts in NGS data

Neel — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 23:16:02 -0600

ClinCNV detects CNVs in germline and somatic context in NGS data (targeted and whole-genome). We work in cohorts, so it makes sense to try ClinCNV if you have more than 10 samples (recommended amount - 40 since we estimate variances from the data). By "cohort" we mean samples sequenced with the same enrichment kit with approximately the same depth (ie 1x WGS and 30x WGS better be analysed in separate runs of ClinCNV). Of course it is better if your samples were sequenced within the same sequencing facility.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/imgag/ClinCNV

kSNP3.0: SNP detection and phylogenetic analysis of genomes without genome alignment or reference genome

Jit — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:48:40 -0600

Sept. 20, 2017 Version 3.1 released. Major upgrade. Version 3.1 fixes the problems with SNP annotation that arose when NCBI discontinued use of GI numbers. Please read carefully the Preface (page 3) and the File of annotated genomes section (pages 9-10) in the version 3.1 User Guide. Thanks to Tom Slezak for revsing the get_genbank_file3 script and to Tod Stuber (USDA) for testing version 3.1 even though he doesn't need the annotation feature. All users are encouraged to upgrade to version 3.1.

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

Platypus – R package for object detection and image segmentation.

BioStar — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 02:56:25 -0600

platypus is an R package for object detection and semantic segmentation. Currently using

platypus you can perform:

multi-class semantic segmentation using U-Net architecture
multi-class object detection using YOLOv3 architecture

You can install the latest version of platypus with remotes package:

remotes::install_github("maju116/platypus")

Note that in order to install platypus you need to install keras and tensorflow packages and Tensorflow version >= 2.0.0 ( Tensorflow 1.x will not be supported!)

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/maju116/platypus

DarkHorse: a method for genome-wide prediction of horizontal gene transfer

Jit — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 07:58:35 -0500

A new approach to rapid, genome-wide identification and ranking of horizontal transfer candidate proteins is presented. The method is quantitative, reproducible, and computationally undemanding. It can be combined with genomic signature and/or phylogenetic tree-building procedures to improve accuracy and efficiency. The method is also useful for retrospective assessments of horizontal transfer prediction reliability, recognizing orthologous sequences that may have been previously overlooked or unavailable. These features are demonstrated in bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic examples.

Address of the bookmark: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1852411/

GWASpro: A High-Performance Genome-Wide Association Analysis Server

Rahul Nayak — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 08:04:57 -0600

GWASpro supports building complex design matrices, by which complex experimental designs that may include replications, treatments, locations and times, can be accounted for in the linear mixed model (LMM). GWASpro is optimized to handle GWAS data that may consist of up to 10 million markers and 10,000 samples from replicable lines or hybrids. GWASpro provides an interface that significantly reduces the learning curve for new GWAS investigators.

Address of the bookmark: https://bioinfo.noble.org/GWASPRO/

Mulan: MUltiple sequence Local AligNment and conservation visualization tool

Rahul Nayak — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 08:02:32 -0500

Mulan performs multiple (2 or more) sequence alignments with an efficient and rapid "full local" alignment strategy that ensures a recapitulation of evolutionary sequence rearrangements (such as inversions and reshuffling) in any of the species. It combines refine and tba tools to align either "draft" or "finished" quality sequences. Mulan provides a dynamic graphical interface to align and visualize conservation profiles for evolutionarily distant and closely related species.

Input formats, automated data upload from the UCSC Genome Browser, gene annotation, annotation of repetitive elements, and progress report were previously described in the zPicture instructions and we refer the users to these materials for more details. This introduction is mainly focused on some novel features unique to the Mulan.

Address of the bookmark: https://mulan.dcode.org/mulanInstructions.php

CrocoBLAST: Optimized parallel implementation of local sequence alignment algorithms

Jit — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 05:03:10 -0500

Local sequence alignment is a cornerstone of bioinformatics, allowing to compare the amino-acid sequences of different proteins, or the nucleotide sequences of different pieces of DNA. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) has revolutionized the field of bioinformatics, and is currently implemented in all free and commercial bioinformatics packages. However, with the advent of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and the development of new sequencing techniques, the utility of traditional BLAST implementations is limited. CrocoBLAST combines the accuracy and general applicability of BLAST with computational efficiency, accessibility, and user experience, so that NGS data can be analyzed efficiently even when only modest computational resources are available.

https://webchem.ncbr.muni.cz/Platform/App/CrocoBLAST

Address of the bookmark: https://webchem.ncbr.muni.cz/Platform/App/CrocoBLAST