Twelve quick steps for genome assembly and annotation in the classroom

by Hyungtaek Jung, Tomer Ventura, J. Sook Chung, Woo-Jin Kim, Bo-Hye Nam, Hee Jeong Kong, Young-Ok Kim, Min-Seung Jeon, Seong-il Eyun Eukaryotic genome sequencing and de novo assembly, once the exclusive domain of well-funded international consortia, have become increasingly affordable, thus fitting the budgets of individual research groups. Third-generation long-read DNA sequencing technologies are increasingly used, providing extensive genomic toolkits that were once reserved for a few select model organisms. Generating high-quality genome assemblies and annotations for many aquatic species still presents significant challenges due to their large genome sizes, complexity, and high chromosome numbers. Indeed, selecting th e most appropriate sequencing and software platforms and annotation pipelines for a new genome project can be daunting because tools often only work in limited contexts. In genomics, generating a high-quality genome assembly/annotation has become an indispensable tool for better understanding the bi ology of any species. Herein, we state 12 steps to help researchers get started in genome projects by presenting guidelines that are broadly applicable (to any species), sustainable over time, and cover all aspects of genome assembly and annotation projects from start to finish. We review some commo nly used approaches, including practical methods to extract high-quality DNA and choices for the best sequencing platforms and library preparations. In addition, we...
Source: PLoS Computational Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: research