PHYLOViZ Online: web-based tool for visualization, phylogenetic inference, analysis and sharing of minimum spanning...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• High-throughput sequencing generates vast amounts of allele and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for bacterial strains.
• Publicly available online repositories host extensive genetic information for numerous bacterial pathogens.
• Traditional phylogenetic inference methods can be computationally intensive and less scalable for large datasets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce PHYLOViZ Online, a web-based platform for analyzing bacterial population structures.
• To provide a user-friendly, accessible tool for minimum spanning tree (MST) analysis of allelic data.
• To facilitate data sharing and integration for bacterial epidemiological and population studies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized minimum spanning tree (MST) analysis on high-throughput sequencing-derived allelic data.
• Developed PHYLOViZ Online as a web-based application requiring no software installation.
• Implemented a RESTful API for programmatic data access and integration with third-party services.

Main Results:

• PHYLOViZ Online enables scalable and reproducible MST analysis of large bacterial datasets.
• The platform allows for easy access, analysis, and sharing of genetic data and results.
• The RESTful API facilitates seamless integration into existing bioinformatics workflows and web services.

Conclusions:

• PHYLOViZ Online provides a valuable, accessible resource for bacterial population genetics and epidemiology.
• The platform democratizes advanced phylogenetic analysis, making it available to researchers without specialized software.
• Integration capabilities through the API enhance its utility in broader research ecosystems.