VirusTAP: Viral Genome-Targeted Assembly Pipeline

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers comprehensive pathogen identification from clinical samples.
• Obtaining complete viral genome sequences is crucial for traceability and phylogenetic analysis.
• Existing bioinformatics pipelines for viral genome assembly can be complex and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple and user-friendly web-based tool for viral genome assembly from NGS data.
• To improve the accuracy and speed of viral genome sequence retrieval from metagenomic reads.
• To facilitate molecular phylogenetic analyses by providing complete viral genomes.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web-based integrated NGS analysis tool named VirusTAP (virus genome-targeted assembly pipeline).
• Implementation of extensive sequence subtraction to remove host and bacterial reads.
• Application of de novo assembly algorithms for viral genome reconstruction.
• Utilizing metagenomic NGS reads as input.

Main Results:

• VirusTAP enables prompt and accurate assembly of viral genome sequences.
• The tool effectively removes non-viral reads, enhancing assembly quality.
• Successfully retrieves complete viral genomes from complex metagenomic datasets.

Conclusions:

• VirusTAP provides an efficient solution for viral genome assembly from NGS data.
• The tool simplifies the bioinformatics workflow for viral discovery and characterization.
• Facilitates enhanced traceability and phylogenetic studies of viral pathogens.