Category Archives: methods

STITCH, in time, could save a lot of array design

Posted on 12 Jul, 2016 by Jeremy Yoder

A new algorithm for processing DNA sequence data, STITCH, could lower costs for studies of genetic variation within species by reconstructing, or “imputing”, the sequences of individual samples within a larger dataset. The ongoing proliferation of high-throughput (or, ugh, “next … Continue reading →

Posted in association genetics, bioinformatics, genomics, methods, next generation sequencing, software | Tagged | Leave a comment

Data, data everywhere and another tool to use: Taxonomer, a web-tool for metagenomics data analysis

Posted on 26 May, 2016 by Kelle Freel

Because sequencing. With all the affordable genome and metagenome sequencing available, we’ve reached an unprecedented point at which we can profile microbial communities more accurately than ever before. For this reason, it’s essential to develop efficient methods for data analysis. … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, community ecology, genomics, metagenomics, methods, microbiology, software | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Catching evolution in the act with the Singleton Density Score

Posted on 23 May, 2016 by Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová

A recent study led by Jonathan K. Pritchard at Stanford University brought a media storm with catchy headlines in both of the flagship scientific outlets Nature and Science News. Aside from highlighting the question of preprints without peer review being … Continue reading →

Posted in methods, mutation, population genetics, selection | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Opening Pandora's box: PSMC and population structure

Posted on 18 May, 2016 by Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová

Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful. — George Box Publication of the Li and Durbin’s 2011 paper titled “Inference of human population history from individual whole-genome sequences” was a milestone in the inference of demography. By allowing … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, methods, Paleogenomics, population genetics, theory | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

RADseq and missing data: some considerations

Posted on 10 May, 2016 by Ethan Linck

Unlike Sanger sequencing, where loci are directly targeted for each individual and sequencing errors are relatively rare, massively multilocus datasets from next generation sequencing platforms are characterized by large amounts of missing data. This is particularly true for restriction digest … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, genomics, methods, Molecular Ecology, the journal, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics, population genetics, theory | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

On Integrative Species Delimitation…

Posted on 9 May, 2016 by Bryan McLean

Accurate delimitation of species is a fundamental first step that underlies much of what we do in biology. But this can prove challenging in many situations. Why? Let me count the ways. Incomplete lineage sorting, hybridization, morphological conservatism, and niche … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, methods, phylogeography, population genetics, software, species delimitation | 1 Comment

hyRAD and museum genomics

Posted on 5 Apr, 2016 by Ethan Linck

While the RAPTURE may have arrived, the development of novel restriction digest-based library prepartation techniques — and portmanteaus — continues unabated. In a paper published in PLoS ONE last month (and previously available as a preprint on bioRxiv), Tomasz Suchan … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, methods, natural history, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Molecular Ecologist's Survey on High-Throughput Sequencing

Posted on 31 Mar, 2016 by Elin Videvall

Last week we updated the Field Guide to Next Generation DNA Sequencers to better reflect the sequencing techniques of 2016. The NGS Field Guide is one of the most popular resources on the Molecular Ecologist web site, but we don’t know much about how our readers use … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, genomics, methods, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The 2016 Next-Generation Sequencing Field Guide Preview: Zombie Systems and New Hope

Posted on 24 Mar, 2016 by Travis Glenn

After a year of minimal activity, we finally have some significant changes in Next Gen Land. In the 2016 update of the NGS Field Guide, I will continue to give my overall interpretation about the various instruments, but with less … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, howto, methods, RNAseq, transcriptomics | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

To find duplicated loci in vertebrate polyploids, try thinking small

Posted on 23 Mar, 2016 by Rob Denton

Big sequencing efforts have gone a long way to help understand the complexities of polyploidy. However, the bioinformatic approaches to sorting and scoring alleles in next-gen data are generally designed for easy of use in diploid species. Unlike a diploid species, where … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, methods, next generation sequencing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments