Ragout

Chromosome assembly using multiple references

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Usage Instructions for Ragout

Quick Usage

usage: ragout.py [-h] [-o output_dir] [-s {sibelia,hal}]
                 [--no-refine] [--overwrite] [--repeats] [--debug]
                 [-t THREADS] [--version]
                 recipe_file


positional arguments:
  recipe_file           path to recipe file

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

  -o output_dir, --outdir output_dir
                        path to the working directory (default: ragout-out)

  -s {sibelia,hal}, --synteny {sibelia,hal}
                        backend for synteny block decomposition (default:
                        sibelia)

  --refine              enable refinement with assembly graph (default:
                        False)

  --solid-scaffolds     do not break input sequences - disables chimera
                        detection module (default: False)

  --overwrite           overwrite results from the previous run (default: False)

  --repeats             enable repeat resolution algorithm (default: False)

  --debug               enable debug output (default: False)

  -t THREADS, --threads THREADS
                        number of threads for synteny backend (default: 1)

  --version             show program's version number and exit

Examples

You can try Ragout on the provided ready-to-use examples:

./ragout.py examples/E.Coli/ecoli.rcp --outdir examples/E.Coli/out/ --refine
./ragout.py examples/H.Pylori/helicobacter.rcp --outdir examples/H.Pylori/out/ --refine
./ragout.py examples/S.Aureus/aureus.rcp --outdir examples/S.Aureus/out/ --refine
./ragout.py examples/V.Cholerae/cholerae.rcp --outdir examples/V.Cholerae/out/ --refine

Algorithm Overview

Ragout first uses Sibelia or HAL alignment for to decompose the input genomes into the sequences of synteny blocks – this step is usually the most time-consuming.

Using the synteny information, Ragout infers the phylogenetic tree of the input genomes (if it is not given as input). Next, Ragout constructs the breakpoint graph (which reflects adjacencies between the synteny blocks in the input genomes) and recovers the missing adjacencies in the target genome (as it is fragmented, some adjacencies are missing). Then, assembly fragments are joined into scaffolds. The final chromosomes are constructed as a consensus of scaffolds built with different synteny block scales.

Finally, an optional refinement step is performed. Ragout reconstructs assembly (overlap) graph from the assembly fragments and uses this graph to insert very short/repetitive fragments into the assembly.

Input

Ragout takes as input:

  • Reference genomes [in FASTA format or packed into HAL]
  • Target assembly in [in FASTA format or packed into HAL]

Optionally, you can add:

  • Phylogenetic tree with the reference and target genomes [in NEWICK format]
  • Synteny block scale

All these parameters should be described in a single recipe file (see below)

Output

After running Ragout, output directory will contain:

  • target_scaffolds.fasta: scaffolds
  • target_unplaced.fasta: unplaced input sequences
  • target_scaffolds.links: the order and orientation of the input sequences in scaffolds (see below)
  • target_scaffolds.agp: same as below, but in NCBI AGP format

Recipe File

A recipe file describes the Ragout run configuration. Here is an example of such file (full version, some parameters could be ommited):

.references = rf122,col,jkd,n315
.target = usa

col.fasta = references/COL.fasta
jkd.fasta = references/JKD6008.fasta
rf122.fasta = references/RF122.fasta
n315.fasta = references/N315.fasta
usa.fasta = usa300_contigs.fasta

.tree = (rf122:0.02,(((usa:0.01,col:0.01):0.01,jkd:0.04):0.005,n315:0.01):0.01);
.blocks = small
.naming_ref = rf122

or, if using HAL as input, tree, blocks scale and naming reference are inferred automatically

.references = miranda,simulans,melanogaster
.target = yakuba
.hal = genomes/alignment.hal

Parameters description:

Each parameter could be “global” (related to the run) or “local” (for a particular genome). Global parameters start from dot:

.global_param_name = value

To set local parameter, use:

genome_name.param_name = value

Global parameters

  • references: comma-separated list of reference names [required]
  • target: target genome name [required]
  • tree: phylogenetic tree in NEWICK format
  • blocks: synteny blocks scale
  • hal: path to the alignment in HAL format
  • naming_ref: reference to use for output scaffolds naming

Local parameters

  • fasta: path to FASTA [default = not set]
  • draft: indicates that reference is in a draft form (not chromosomes) [default = false]

Default values

You can change default values of the local parameters by assigning the parameter value to the special “star” object: for instance, if all input references except one are in a draft form, you can write:

*.draft = true
complete_ref.draft = false

Quick comments

Paths to FASTA/HAL can be both relative and absolute.

If you use Sibelia for synteny blocks decomposition you must specify FASTA for each input genome. If you use HAL, all sequences will be taken from it.

Sibelia requires all sequence headers (">gi…") among ALL FASTA files to be unique.

If you do not specify phylogenetic tree or synteny block scale, they will be inferred automatically.

Parameters Description

Phylogenetic tree

Ragout algorithm requires a phylogenetic tree as input. This tree could be inferred automatically from the breakpoint configuration of the input genomes. The automatic inference generally produces a good approximation of a real phylogeny and is therefore recommended for most of the purposes. However, if you already have the tree structure from a different source, you may guide the algorithm with it by setting the corresponding parameter.

Synteny block scale

Because the decomposition procedure is parameter-dependent, the assembly is performed in multiple iterations with different synteny block scale. Intuitively, the algorithm firstly considers only fragments that are long enough and then insert shorter ones into final scaffolds.

There are two pre-defined scales: “small” and “large”. We recommend “small” for relatively small genomes (bacterial) and large otherwise (mammalian). If the parameter is not set, it is automatically inferred based on input genomes size (recommended).

Reference genome in draft form

Ragout can use an incomplete assembly (contigs/scaffolds) as a reference. In such a case you should specify that the reference is in draft from by setting the corresponding parameter in the recipe file.

Naming reference

Output scaffolds will be named according to a homology to one of the input references (naming reference). This reference can be set with the corresponding recipe parameter, otherwise it will be chosen as the closest reference in the phylogenetic tree. The naming pattern is as follows. If a scaffold is homologous to a single reference chromosome “A”, it will be named as “chr_A”. If there are multiple homologous chromosomes, for example “A” and “B” (in case of chromosomal fusion), it will be named “chr_A_B”. If there are multiple scaffolds with a same name, the longest one would be chosen as primary, others will get an extra “_unlocalized” suffix.

Synteny Backends

Ragout has two different options for synteny block decomposition:

  • Decomposition with Sibelia
  • HAL alignment produced by Progressive Cactus

You can choose between backends by specifying --synteny (-s) option.

Sibelia

“Sibelia” is the default option and recommended for bacterial genomes.

Whole genome alignment in HAL format

Alternatively, Ragout can use HAL whole genome alignment for synteny blocks decomposition. This option is recommended for large (over 100MB) genomes, which Sibelia can not process. This alignment is done by Progressive Cactus aligner [https://github.com/glennhickey/progressiveCactus]. Currently, we do not provide bindings for running Progressive Cactus from Ragout, as the procedure might vary for different setups. Ragout starts with the alignment result in HAL format, HAL tools should be installed in your system.

MAF backend is deprecated

The support of MAF synteny backend is deprecated, because it is more convenient to work directly with HAL, which is a default output of Progressive Cactus.

Repeat Resolution

As the main Ragout algorithm works only with unique synteny blocks, we filter all repetitive blocks before building the breakpoint graph. Therefore, some target sequences (generally, short and repetitive contigs) will be ignored (some of them could be put back during the refinement step below).

To incorporate these repetitive fragments into the assembly, you can use the optional algorithm, which tries to resolve the repetitive contigs and find their positions in the assembly (’–repeats’ option). Depending on the dataset, you may get a significant increase in the assembly coverage, therefore decreasing scaffolds gaps. However, if there are copy number variations between the reference and target genomes, the algorithm could make some false insertions.

Chimera Detection

Ragout detects chimeric adjacencies inside the input sequences and fixes them by breaking the sequences into parts. The chimera detection algorithm tries to distinguish such erroneous joins from target-specific adjacencies, that are not observed in the references. By default, the adjacency which is not supported by references is considered chimeric, unless there is an evidence of a rearrangement in the target genome. Sometimes, due to the fragmentation of the target genome, the evidence support is missing. If you have high quality contigs/scaffolds, you may choose to turn chimera detection off by specifying ‘–solid-scaffolds’ option.

Refinement with the Assembly Graph

Ragout optionally uses assembly (overlap) graph to incorporate very short / repetitive contigs into the assembly (’–refine’ option). First, this graph is reconstructed by overlapping input contigs/scaffolds. Then current Ragout scaffolds are “threaded” through this graph to find the true “genome path”. This procedure increases number of contigs in output scaffolds and also improves the scaffold gaps estimates. Sometimes assembly graphs are not very accurate, which may lead to incorrectly inserted contigs. However, for the most bacterial assemblies the fraction of errors should be minor. This procedure is generally recommended for bacterial assemblies, however, the effect is usually minor for large genomes because of complications with assembly graph reconstruction.

Links File

Ragout outputs information about generated adjacencies in “*.links” file. It is organized as a table for each scaffold with the values below:

  • sequence : input fragment’s name and strand (possibly with coordinates in form [start:end])
  • start : fragment’s position in the scaffold
  • length : fragment’s length
  • gap : gap size between the current and the next fragment
  • support : reference support of the corresponding adjacency

Input fragments are described in a form:

[+/-]seq_name[start:end]

The sign corresponds to the fragment’s strand. The [start:end] structure is omitted if the full fragment is used. A symbol “~>” in support field corresponds to the assembly graph support

Useful Scripts

Scripts are located in “scripts” directory

verify-order.py:

Tests the correctness of the inferred contigs order if a “true” reference is available. First, contigs should be mapped on that reference using nucmer software:

nucmer --maxmatch --coords reference contigs

Then run the script with the obtained “coords” file:

scripts/verify-order.py nucmer_coords ord_file