RiboGalaxy: A browser based platform for the alignment, analysis and visualization of ribosome profiling data

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Ribosome profiling (ribo-seq) is a powerful technique for mapping translation at the transcriptome-wide level.
• Analyzing ribo-seq data is complex and often requires specialized bioinformatics expertise.
• There is a need for user-friendly tools to facilitate ribo-seq data processing and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present RiboGalaxy, a Galaxy-based web server for processing and analyzing ribo-seq data.
• To integrate visualization capabilities through GWIPS-viz for enhanced data exploration.
• To provide accessible tools for researchers without extensive bioinformatics backgrounds.

Main Methods:

• Development of a Galaxy-based web server (RiboGalaxy).
• Integration with GWIPS-viz for data visualization.
• Implementation of pre-defined workflows for streamlined data processing.
• Inclusion of tools for data quality assessment and specific analyses (e.g., periodicity, meta-gene profiles).

Main Results:

• RiboGalaxy provides a user-friendly platform for ribo-seq and mRNA-seq data analysis.
• Published workflows simplify the alignment process, requiring minimal user input.
• Users can visualize their data in GWIPS-viz, compare it with existing datasets, and assess data quality.
• Tools for analyzing triplet periodicity and meta-gene ribosome profiles are available.

Conclusions:

• RiboGalaxy democratizes ribo-seq data analysis, empowering researchers to explore translation dynamics.
• The platform enhances the accessibility and utility of ribo-seq data for biological discovery.
• Integrated documentation and a user forum support ongoing learning and service improvement.