More at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.14.992248v3

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/marbl/canu

More at https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-020-03666-4

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/aghozlane/shaman

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/Megagenomics/FastProNGS

Address of the bookmark: https://bioinfologics.github.io/post/2018/09/17/k-mer-counting-part-i-introduction/

1. Co-assembly procedure with read mapping for estimation of the abundances of genes in each metagenome
2. Co-assembly of a large number of metagenomes via merging of individual metagenomes
3. Includes binning and bin checking, for retrieving individual genomes
4. The results are stored in a database, where they can be easily exported and shared, and can be inspected anywhere using a web interface.
5. Internal checks for the assembly and binning steps inform about the consistency of contigs and bins, allowing to spot potential chimeras.
6. Metatranscriptomic support via mapping of cDNA reads against reference metagenomes

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/jtamames/SqueezeMeta

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

QuorUM is distributed as an independent software package and as a module of the MaSuRCA assembly software. Both are available under the GPL open source license at http://www.genome.umd.edu.

Address of the bookmark: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130821

https://nxrepair.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html

nxrepair aligned_matepairs.bam assemblyfasta.fasta error_locations.csv new_fasta.fasta

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/rebeccaroisin/nxrepair

BEAR is intended to be an easy-to-use collection of scripts for generating simulated WGS metagenomic reads with read lengths, quality scores, error profiles, and species abundances derived from real user-supplied WGS data.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/sej917/BEAR

This blog provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide to detect piRNAs using bioinformatics tools and workflows.

Step 1: Prepare Your Data

1. Obtain RNA Sequencing Data
   Acquire raw small RNA-seq data in FASTQ format. Datasets can be sourced from repositories like NCBI SRA, EMBL-EBI, or specific small RNA sequencing projects.

2. Quality Control (QC)
   Use FastQC to assess the quality of raw reads:

   fastqc reads.fastq

   Evaluate the per-base quality, adapter content, and overrepresented sequences.

3. Trimming and Adapter Removal
   Use tools like Cutadapt or Trim Galore! to remove adapters and low-quality bases:

   cutadapt -a TGGAATTCTCGGGTGCCAAGG -o trimmed_reads.fastq reads.fastq

   Ensure the remaining reads are of high quality for downstream analysis.

Step 2: Map Reads to the Genome

Mapping reads to the reference genome is crucial for identifying piRNA loci.

1. Reference Genome Preparation
   Download the genome assembly of your organism from databases like Ensembl, UCSC Genome Browser, or NCBI.

2. Align Reads
   Use Bowtie or STAR for small RNA alignment:

   bowtie -v 1 -k 1 --best genome_index trimmed_reads.fastq -S aligned_reads.sam
   • -v 1: Allows one mismatch.
   • -k 1: Reports the best alignment.

3. Convert SAM to BAM
   Convert and sort alignments using SAMtools:

   samtools view -Sb aligned_reads.sam | samtools sort -o sorted_reads.bam

Step 3: Identify Small RNAs

piRNAs are characterized by their size (24–32 nt) and strand bias.

1. Extract Reads by Size
   Use tools like BEDtools or custom scripts to filter reads between 24 and 32 nt:

   bedtools bamtofastq -i sorted_reads.bam -fq all_reads.fastq seqkit seq -m 24 -M 32 all_reads.fastq > piRNA_size_reads.fastq

2. Check for Sequence Bias
   piRNAs often have a strong bias for a uridine at the 5’ end (1U bias). Use tools like WebLogo to visualize sequence motifs.

Step 4: Detect Ping-Pong Signature

The ping-pong amplification loop is a hallmark of piRNA biogenesis, characterized by a 10 nt overlap between piRNAs on opposite strands.

1. Generate Overlap Statistics
   Use the piPipes tool or custom scripts to calculate overlap:

   python ping_pong_overlap.py sorted_reads.bam

2. Visualize Overlap Distribution
   Plot the distribution of overlaps to confirm the presence of the 10 nt ping-pong signature.

Step 5: Annotate piRNA Clusters

piRNAs are often generated from genomic clusters.

1. Cluster Identification
   Use tools like proTRAC or PIRANHA to identify piRNA-producing clusters:

   proTRAC.pl -s sorted_reads.bam -g genome.fa -o clusters

2. Annotate Genomic Regions
   Annotate the identified clusters using gene annotation files (GTF/GFF). Tools like BEDtools intersect can help associate piRNA clusters with genes or transposable elements:

   bedtools intersect -a clusters.bed -b genome_annotation.gtf > annotated_clusters.bed

Step 6: Functional Analysis

Functional analysis of piRNAs can uncover their targets and regulatory roles.

1. Predict piRNA Targets
   Use tools like IntaRNA or RNAhybrid to predict interactions between piRNAs and potential target mRNAs:

   RNAhybrid -t target_transcripts.fa -q piRNAs.fa > piRNA_targets.txt

2. Enrichment Analysis
   Perform GO or KEGG enrichment analysis of target genes using tools like g:Profiler or DAVID.

Step 7: Validation and Visualization

1. Validate piRNA Candidates
   Cross-check the identified piRNAs against known piRNA databases, such as piRBase or piRNAdb.

2. Visualize Results

   • Use IGV (Integrative Genomics Viewer) to visualize piRNA alignment and clusters on the genome.
   • Generate heatmaps or circos plots to present piRNA distributions.

Step 8: Share and Publish Findings

1. Archive Data
   Submit sequencing data to public repositories like SRA or GEO with metadata specifying piRNA-related experiments.

2. Publish Results
   Share findings in journals or conferences, emphasizing novel piRNA candidates, target genes, or regulatory mechanisms.

Conclusion

Detecting piRNAs involves a combination of computational and analytical methods to identify these unique small RNAs and their roles in gene regulation and transposable element suppression. By following this step-by-step guide, you can confidently navigate the complexities of piRNA detection and contribute to the growing understanding of their biological significance.