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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Next-generation Sequencing of 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene Amplicons
Published on: August 29, 2014
MetaSim: a sequencing simulator for genomics and metagenomics
Daniel C Richter1, Felix Ott, Alexander F Auch
1ZBIT- Center for Bioinformatics Tübingen, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. drichter@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de
Background:
The new research field of metagenomics is providing exciting insights into various, previously unclassified ecological systems. Next-generation sequencing technologies are producing a rapid increase of environmental data in public databases. There is great need for specialized software solutions and statistical methods for dealing with complex metagenome data sets.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
To facilitate the development and improvement of metagenomic tools and the planning of metagenomic projects, we introduce a sequencing simulator called MetaSim. Our software can be used to generate collections of synthetic reads that reflect the diverse taxonomical composition of typical metagenome data sets. Based on a database of given genomes, the program allows the user to design a metagenome by specifying the number of genomes present at different levels of the NCBI taxonomy, and then to collect reads from the metagenome using a simulation of a number of different sequencing technologies. A population sampler optionally produces evolved sequences based on source genomes and a given evolutionary tree.
Conclusions/Significance:
MetaSim allows the user to simulate individual read datasets that can be used as standardized test scenarios for planning sequencing projects or for benchmarking metagenomic software.
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