BOL: Related items

DIAMOND

Jit — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 04:21:54 -0500

DIAMOND is a sequence aligner for protein and translated DNA searches and functions as a drop-in replacement for the NCBI BLAST software tools. It is suitable for protein-protein search as well as DNA-protein search on short reads and longer sequences including contigs and assemblies, providing a speedup of BLAST ranging up to x20,000.

More at file:///home/urbe/Downloads/diamond_manual.pdf

http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/v12/n1/full/nmeth.3176.html

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/bbuchfink/diamond

DNA testing companies around the globe !

Jit — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 04:44:03 -0500

It was realized in the 1940s that DNA molecules are passed down through the generations of a family. In 1953 Watson and Crick elucidated the chemical structure of this molecule as a twisted ladder (a ‘helix’) made of two strands. DNA occurs in all the cells of our body, it is our blueprint! The strands of DNA contain information in the form of a code, which in turn determines our individual traits and characteristics. This code, the genetic code, is the order of four types of DNA building block. When the two strands of DNA separate, each building block (‘base’) accurately templates a corresponding base on the newly made strand of DNA so that information is not lost but is instead duplicated and preserved.

Testing for similarities between DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples from two people allows family relationships to be established – or disproved – to an extraordinarily high degree of certainty. A common use for a DNA test is to establish if a man is the biological father of a child; this is known as a paternity test. However, there are other uses for the science of DNA testing (also called genotyping), these include forensic analysis of human DNA samples, and tracking relationships amongst domesticated animals.

The order in which the bases occur in DNA is referred to as the DNA sequence. Each person is unique and just as people differ in their fingerprints, they also have a unique and slightly different DNA sequence. Half of a person’s DNA is received from their mother, and half is received from the father. However, while fingerprints have no value for establishing family relationships, the minor variations in DNA sequence are extraordinarily useful for this purpose. All cells of our body contain DNA, skin cells from the lining of the cheek provide a simple and convenient source of material.

DNA is purified from these cells and the minor variations are read out as a type of bar-code by a machine. When the net DNA ‘barcodes’ from family members are lined up next to each other it becomes clear when a child is related to biological parents because half the stripes in the bar-code like signature will line up with those of the mother, and half will line up with those of the father. On the other hand, in the absence of a biological relationship, the DNA signatures from a child and from a potential parent are not found to have 50% in common. It may be appreciated that DNA testing is the most convenient and scientifically accurate method of determining relationships between people.

Following are the list of companies who qssist in DNA testing:

DNA testing companies

23andMe (admixture, adoption, deep ancestry, genealogy) (health and trait reports also available in some countries)
24 genetics (admixture, exome sequencing, health, paternity, pharmacogenetics, whole genome sequencing) A company catering for the Spanish market
African Ancestry (deep ancestry)
AfricanDNA (FTDNA affiliate) (admixture, deep ancestry, genealogy)
AncestrybyDNA (admixture, deep ancestry)
AncestryDNA, a subsidiary of Ancestry.com (admixture, adoption, genealogy)
Atlas Biomed (deep ancestry, diet, health and traits, sport) A test catering for the Russian market
BritainsDNA (formerly Ethnoancestry) (admixture, deep ancestry)
Centrillion Biosciences (aka TribeCode) (admixture, deep ancestry)
CymruDNAWales - see BritainsDNA
Dante Labs (exome sequencing, health, whole genome sequencing) A test aimed at the European market
DNA Ancestry and Family Origin (FTDNA affiliate in the Middle East) (admixture, adoption, deep ancestry, full mtDNA sequencing, genealogy)
DNA Consultants (admixture, deep ancestry)
DNA Tribes (admixture)
DNA Worldwide (formerly a FTDNA partner. See also Living DNA)
Ethnoancestry - see BritainsDNA
Family Tree DNA (admixture, adoption, deep ancestry, full mtDNA sequencing, genealogy, Y chromosome sequencing)
Full Genomes Corporation (whole genome sequencing, Y-chromosome sequencing)
Gene by Gene - the parent company of Family Tree DNA which now incorporates the companies previously known as DNA Traits, DNA DTC and DNA Findings (research, health, exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing)
Genebase (deep ancestry, genealogy)
GenoTek (admixture, genealogy, diet and fitness, family planning, health, talents and sports) A company catering for the Russian market
Genographic Project (admixture, deep ancestry)
Genos Research Inc (DTC whole exome sequencing; consumer focused healthcare big data spin out from Complete Genomics; Note: no genetic genealogy focus or tools)
Guardiome (admixture, whole genome sequencing and interpretation)
Helix (exome sequencing) US supplier of the Genographic Project Geno 2.0 Next Generation test
iGENEA (FTDNA affiliate) (admixture, deep ancestry, genealogy)
IrelandsDNA - See BritainsDNA (formerly Ethnoancestry)
MyDNA Global - a new name for BritainsDNA
Living DNA (admixture, deep ancestry) See also DNA Worldwide
MyHeritage DNA (admixture, genealogy)
Oxford Ancestors (deep ancestry)
Roots for Real (admixture, deep ancestry)
ScotlandsDNA - (formerly Ethnoancestry) (admixture, deep ancestry)
Sorenson Genomics (laboratory services)
Sure Genomics (whole genome sequencing and interpretation)
TribeCode See Centrillion Biosciences
Veritas Genetics (whole genome sequencing and interpretation)
Xcode (Diet and Fitness, Precision medicine, Genotyping, Sequencing, Interpretation)
YorkshiresDNA - See BritainsDNA (formerly Ethnoancestry)
WeGene (admixture, deep ancestry, health, sports, traits) A test tailored for the East Asian market
YSEQ (custom Y-SNPs, Y-STRs, SNP panels, whole genome sequencing)

Magic-BLAST: a tool for mapping large next-generation RNA or DNA sequencing runs against a whole genome or transcriptome.

Jit — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 22:23:39 -0600

Magic-BLAST is a tool for mapping large next-generation RNA or DNA sequencing runs against a whole genome or transcriptome. Each alignment optimizes a composite score, taking into account simultaneously the two reads of a pair, and in case of RNA-seq, locating the candidate introns and adding up the score of all exons. This is very different from other versions of BLAST, where each exon is scored as a separate hit and read-pairing is ignored.

Magic-BLAST incorporates within the NCBI BLAST code framework ideas developed in the NCBI Magic pipeline, in particular hit extensions by local walk and jump (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26109056), and recursive clipping of mismatches near the edges of the reads, which avoids accumulating artefactual mismatches near splice sites and is needed to distinguish short indels from substitutions near the edges.

Address of the bookmark: https://ncbi.github.io/magicblast/

ALPACA: A hybrid strategy for assembly of genomic DNA shotgun sequencing reads.

Seema Singh — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:38:40 -0500

ALPACA requires Celera Assembler 8.3 or later. It is recommended to build Celera Assembler from source. (Why? The pre-built binaries CA_8.3rc1 and CA8.3rc2 will work for any large data set.

Detail paper at https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-017-3927-8

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/VicugnaPacos/ALPACA

The El-Sherif Group, Chair of Developmental Biology, Department of Biology - PhD Position

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 10:06:37 -0600

El-Sherif lab studies how genes are regulated to mediate patterning in Development. We use live and super-resolution imaging in addition to computational modeling to understand transcription dynamics at the single-cell level in three model systems: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the beetle Tribolium castaneum, and embryonic bodies derived from embryonic mouse stem cells.

In this project, you will use single-molecule techniques to label mRNA and DNA in (live and fixed) Drosophila embryos and fixed embryonic bodies. You will also use super-resolution microscopy to visualize protein condensates. Co-localization dynamics reflecting DNA-protein bindings and DNA looping events will be detected, analyzed, and used to test computational models of gene transcription.

Qualification:
MSc degree (or equivalent) in Biology, Biophysics, or Bioengineering

Experience in one or more of these areas: (1) molecular cloning, (2) imaging, (3) image analysis (using Matlab/Python/Java), (4) microfluidics, and (5) computational modeling.

How to Apply?
Send (1) your CV, (2) summary of research experience, and (3) email addresses of at least 2 references to ezzat.el-sherif@fau.de. Title your email ‘Transcription PhD Position’.

salary Grade.: E13
Total Time: 3 Jahre
Start: 01.01.2020.
End: 31.3.2020.

Address:
Dr. El-Sherif, Ezzat
Department Biologie
Professur für Zoologie (Entwicklungsbiologie) (Prof. Dr. Klingler)
Telefon 09131/85-28068, Fax 09131/85-28040, E-Mail: ezzat.el-sherif@fau.de

NucDiff: In-depth characterization and annotation of differences between two sets of DNA sequences

Jit — Tue, 05 May 2020 10:35:48 -0500

NucDiff locates and categorizes differences between two closely related nucleotide sequences. It is able to deal with very fragmented genomes, structural rearrangements and various local differences. These features make NucDiff to be perfectly suitable to compare assemblies with each other or with available reference genomes.

NucDiff provides information about the types of differences and their locations. It is possible to upload the results into genome browser for visualization and further inspection. It was written in Python and uses the NUCmer package from MUMmer[1] for sequence comparison.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/uio-cels/NucDiff

Common methods to discover tandem repeats

BioStar — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 02:40:52 -0600

Tandem repeats are DNA sequences that are repeated in a contiguous manner in the genome. These sequences are often used as genetic markers and are important in many areas of genetics and genomics research. Here are some methods for discovering tandem repeats in genomes:

Tandem Repeat Finder: Tandem Repeat Finder is a software tool that identifies tandem repeats in DNA sequences. It is available for free download and can be used on both nucleotide and protein sequences. The tool uses a statistical algorithm to identify repeats based on their length, copy number, and overall composition.
RepeatMasker: RepeatMasker is another software tool that can identify tandem repeats in DNA sequences. It works by comparing the input sequence to a database of known repeats and then identifies any tandem repeats that match those in the database.
PCR-based methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used to amplify and detect tandem repeats in genomic DNA. PCR primers are designed to flank the tandem repeat region, and amplification of the target DNA fragment can be visualized on a gel. This method can be useful for detecting novel tandem repeats and for genotyping.
Southern blotting: Southern blotting is a classic method for detecting DNA fragments in a sample. It can be used to detect tandem repeats by digesting genomic DNA with a restriction enzyme, separating the fragments by gel electrophoresis, and then probing the blot with a tandem repeat-specific probe.

Overall, a combination of these methods can be used to comprehensively identify tandem repeats in genomes.

Basics of BLAST Programs !

BioStar — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 06:04:26 -0500

The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) is a powerful bioinformatics program used to compare an input sequence (such as DNA, RNA, or protein sequences) against a database of sequences to find regions of similarity. Developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), BLAST is widely used for identifying species, finding functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences, and predicting the function of novel sequences.

Key Features of BLAST:
1. Sequence Comparison: BLAST searches for local alignments between the query sequence and sequences in a database. It identifies regions of similarity, which can help infer functional and evolutionary relationships.

2. Speed and Efficiency: BLAST uses heuristic algorithms, making it faster than exhaustive search methods, suitable for large-scale database searches.

3. Versatility: There are several versions of BLAST for different types of sequence comparisons:
- blastn: Compares a nucleotide query sequence against a nucleotide sequence database.
- blastp: Compares a protein query sequence against a protein sequence database.
- blastx: Compares a nucleotide query sequence translated in all reading frames against a protein sequence database.
- tblastn: Compares a protein query sequence against a nucleotide sequence database translated in all reading frames.
- tblastx: Compares the six-frame translations of a nucleotide query sequence against the six-frame translations of a nucleotide sequence database.

4. Scoring and E-value: BLAST results are scored based on the quality and length of the alignments. The E-value (expect value) indicates the number of alignments one can expect to find by chance, with lower E-values representing more significant matches.

5. Output Formats: BLAST provides results in various formats, including plain text, HTML, XML, and JSON, making it adaptable for different types of analyses and integrations with other tools.

Applications of BLAST:
- Genomic Research: Identifying genes, understanding genetic diversity, and mapping genome sequences.
- Protein Function Prediction: Inferring the function of unknown proteins by comparing them to known protein sequences.
- Evolutionary Studies: Exploring evolutionary relationships between organisms by comparing their genetic material.
- Medical Research: Identifying pathogens, understanding disease mechanisms, and developing treatments by comparing sequences of interest.

Overall, BLAST is an essential tool in bioinformatics, offering a reliable and efficient way to analyze and interpret biological sequence data.

dnaPipeTE: de-novo assembly & annotation Pipeline for Transposable Elements

Rahul Nayak — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 18:25:44 -0600

dnaPipeTE (for de-novo assembly & annotation Pipeline for Transposable Elements), is a pipeline designed to find, annotate and quantify Transposable Elements in small samples of NGS datasets. It is very useful to quantify the proportion of TEs in newly sequenced genomes since it does not require genome assembly and works on small datasets (< 1X).

dnaPipeTE is developped by Clément Goubert, Laurent Modolo and the TREEP team of the LBBE: http://lbbe.univ-lyon1.fr/-Equipe-Elements-transposables-.html?lang=en
You can find the original publication in GBE here: https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/7/4/1192/533768

output examples of quantification and TE landscape (relative age) produced by dnaPipeTE

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/clemgoub/dnaPipeTE

HTTDB - Horizontally transferred transposable elements database

Rahul Nayak — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 12:07:31 -0600

Transposons or Transposable elements (TEs) are "mobile genes" capable of mobilization from one genomic location to another through non-homologous recombination. As this movement is mediated by its own proteins and does not contribute to the survival of the host that it inhabits, they are known as selfish genomic parasites. Despite their capacity for transposition inside genomes, they can frequently transpose the species boundaries and consequently migrate from one species to another. Such phenomenon is called Horizontal Transposons Transfer. HTT was first discovered by Daniels et al. (1984) when analysing a P element that was transferred from Drosophila willistoni to D. melanogaster. Since then, many more cases have been documented in the literature. Moreover, in the last years, such discoveries have been boosted by the unprecedented amount of new genomes available. Despite the recognition of HTT as a common phenomenon in recent years, it is still difficult to draw major conclusions about HTT patterns, such as where in the tree of life these cases are more frequently found. This is mainly due to the historical bias and lack of studies in many taxa. To date, there has been no easy way to visualise each TE or host species, and should be further analysed in order to provide a more comprehensive view of such phenomena. Based on these concerns, we developed the HTT database to keep an updated repository of HTT events in all eukaryotes, allowing not only TE specialists to add new events and search the database, but also non-specialists. Moreover, we expanded the database to include Horizontal-Virus Transfer also known as endogenization events which is characterized by the stable integration a viral genomic fragment into the host genome.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29315358

Address of the bookmark: http://lpa.saogabriel.unipampa.edu.br:8080/httdatabase/