On July 16th 2015, GenomeWeb published an article about Map, a read alignment & variant calling tool of DTL’s Partner Genalice. KeyGene selected this tool as the primary next-generation sequencing data-processing technology.
Map was originally used as a tool for human genomic research, so it wasn’t entirely sure how well it would perform in plant genomics. Jos Lunenberg, Chief Business Officer of Genalice explains: “Those are very difficult data to align and call because there are a lot of repetitive areas. Furthermore, many plant species are polyploids, which adds another layer of complexity. It’s a different ball game” than with human genomes.”
To tackle this problem, Genalice created customized plant genomics algorithms for Map that take into account the variability between human and plant genomes. That effort also involved working with KeyGene to validate Map in various plants, including two tomato species. Based on the outcome of that work, KeyGene is now using Map as its main data-analysis tool in all of its high-volume NGS projects.
Background information can be found on the website of GenomeWeb.