ASGARD+: A New Modular Platform for Bacterial Antibiotic-Resistant Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Genomics
• Microbiology

Background:

• Accurate identification of antibiotic resistance genes is crucial for combating infectious diseases.
• Existing bioinformatics tools can be complex and time-consuming for analyzing large bacterial genome datasets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce ASGARD+ (Accelerated Sequential Genome-analysis and Antibiotic Resistance Detection), a novel command-line platform.
• To provide an efficient and user-friendly solution for identifying antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial genomes.

Main Methods:

• ASGARD+ utilizes two main protocols: ASGARD for direct identification of resistance elements from short reads and SAGA for variant detection using whole-genome alignment.
• The platform employs a CPU-optimization algorithm to reduce processing time.
• Configuration is managed via a JSON file, allowing modular pipeline customization.

Main Results:

• ASGARD+ enables automatic identification and annotation of antibiotic resistance genes.
• The platform processes large batches of sequence files from whole genome sequencing with minimal configuration.
• It optimizes analysis times and delivers accurate results, even for users with limited bioinformatics experience.

Conclusions:

• ASGARD+ offers a powerful and accessible tool for bacterial genome analysis.
• The platform facilitates in-depth exploration of bacterial genomes, aiding in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
• Its modular design and optimized performance enhance research efficiency.