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T-Align, a web-based tool for comparison of multiple terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles
Cindy J Smith1, Bret S Danilowicz, Adrian K Clear
1Department of Zoology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
|December 8, 2005
Summary
Manually comparing microbial community profiles using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (tRFLP) is slow and error-prone. The T-Align web program automates this process, enabling rapid analysis of numerous tRFLP profiles and identification of microbial community structures.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Bioinformatics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (tRFLP) is a high-throughput method for analyzing complex microbial communities.
- Manual comparison of tRFLP profiles is time-consuming and prone to errors, hindering efficient analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce T-Align, a freely accessible web-based program designed to automate the comparison of tRFLP profiles.
- To facilitate the identification of shared and unique microbial community components through rapid profile analysis.
Main Methods:
- T-Align generates consensus profiles from replicate tRFLP data, identifying consistently present terminal restriction fragments (TRFs).
- The program compares consensus profiles from different communities, detailing TRF presence and relative fluorescence intensity.
- Demonstrated application using bacterioplankton communities from the Irish and Celtic Seas.
Main Results:
- T-Align enables rapid and accurate comparison of numerous tRFLP profiles.
- Facilitated the identification of ubiquitous and site-specific TRFs within the studied bacterioplankton communities.
Conclusions:
- T-Align significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of microbial community analysis using tRFLP.
- The tool supports the identification of distinct microbial community structures and ecological patterns.