Robert Edwards

Bio: Robert Edwards is an academic researcher from University of California, Irvine. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Quantum chromodynamics. The author has an hindex of 121, co-authored 775 publications receiving 74552 citations. Previous affiliations of Robert Edwards include University of York & University of California, Los Angeles.

The RAST Server: Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology

Abstract: The number of prokaryotic genome sequences becoming available is growing steadily and is growing faster than our ability to accurately annotate them. We describe a fully automated service for annotating bacterial and archaeal genomes. The service identifies protein-encoding, rRNA and tRNA genes, assigns functions to the genes, predicts which subsystems are represented in the genome, uses this information to reconstruct the metabolic network and makes the output easily downloadable for the user. In addition, the annotated genome can be browsed in an environment that supports comparative analysis with the annotated genomes maintained in the SEED environment. The service normally makes the annotated genome available within 12–24 hours of submission, but ultimately the quality of such a service will be judged in terms of accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the produced annotations. We summarize our attempts to address these issues and discuss plans for incrementally enhancing the service. By providing accurate, rapid annotation freely to the community we have created an important community resource. The service has now been utilized by over 120 external users annotating over 350 distinct genomes.

Quality control and preprocessing of metagenomic datasets

Abstract: Summary: Here, we present PRINSEQ for easy and rapid quality control and data preprocessing of genomic and metagenomic datasets. Summary statistics of FASTA (and QUAL) or FASTQ files are generated in tabular and graphical form and sequences can be filtered, reformatted and trimmed by a variety of options to improve downstream analysis. Availability and Implementation: This open-source application was implemented in Perl and can be used as a stand alone version or accessed online through a user-friendly web interface. The source code, user help and additional information are available at http://prinseq.sourceforge.net/. Contact:[email protected]; [email protected]

Integrated genomic characterization of endometrial carcinoma

Abstract: We performed an integrated genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic characterization of 373 endometrial carcinomas using array- and sequencing-based technologies. Uterine serous tumours and ∼25% of high-grade endometrioid tumours had extensive copy number alterations, few DNA methylation changes, low oestrogen receptor/progesterone receptor levels, and frequent TP53 mutations. Most endometrioid tumours had few copy number alterations or TP53 mutations, but frequent mutations in PTEN, CTNNB1, PIK3CA, ARID1A and KRAS and novel mutations in the SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complex gene ARID5B. A subset of endometrioid tumours that we identified had a markedly increased transversion mutation frequency and newly identified hotspot mutations in POLE. Our results classified endometrial cancers into four categories: POLE ultramutated, microsatellite instability hypermutated, copy-number low, and copy-number high. Uterine serous carcinomas share genomic features with ovarian serous and basal-like breast carcinomas. We demonstrated that the genomic features of endometrial carcinomas permit a reclassification that may affect post-surgical adjuvant treatment for women with aggressive tumours.

The SEED and the Rapid Annotation of microbial genomes using Subsystems Technology (RAST)

Abstract: In 2004, the SEED (http://pubseed.theseed.org/) was created to provide consistent and accurate genome annotations across thousands of genomes and as a platform for discovering and developing de novo annotations. The SEED is a constantly updated integration of genomic data with a genome database, web front end, API and server scripts. It is used by many scientists for predicting gene functions and discovering new pathways. In addition to being a powerful database for bioinformatics research, the SEED also houses subsystems (collections of functionally related protein families) and their derived FIGfams (protein families), which represent the core of the RAST annotation engine (http://rast.nmpdr.org/). When a new genome is submitted to RAST, genes are called and their annotations are made by comparison to the FIGfam collection. If the genome is made public, it is then housed within the SEED and its proteins populate the FIGfam collection. This annotation cycle has proven to be a robust and scalable solution to the problem of annotating the exponentially increasing number of genomes. To date, >12 000 users worldwide have annotated >60 000 distinct genomes using RAST. Here we describe the interconnectedness of the SEED database and RAST, the RAST annotation pipeline and updates to both resources.

The Metagenomics RAST Server: A Public Resource for the Automatic Phylogenetic and Functional Analysis of Metagenomes

Abstract: Random community genomes (metagenomes) are now commonly used to study microbes in different environments. Over the past few years, the major challenge associated with metagenomics shifted from generating to analyzing sequences. High-throughput, low-cost next-generation sequencing has provided access to metagenomics to a wide range of researchers. A high-throughput pipeline has been constructed to provide high-performance computing to all researchers interested in using metagenomics. The pipeline produces automated functional assignments of sequences in the metagenome by comparing both protein and nucleotide databases. Phylogenetic and functional summaries of the metagenomes are generated, and tools for comparative metagenomics are incorporated into the standard views. User access is controlled to ensure data privacy, but the collaborative environment underpinning the service provides a framework for sharing datasets between multiple users. In the metagenomics RAST, all users retain full control of their data, and everything is available for download in a variety of formats. The open-source metagenomics RAST service provides a new paradigm for the annotation and analysis of metagenomes. With built-in support for multiple data sources and a back end that houses abstract data types, the metagenomics RAST is stable, extensible, and freely available to all researchers. This service has removed one of the primary bottlenecks in metagenome sequence analysis – the availability of high-performance computing for annotating the data. http://metagenomics.nmpdr.org

The SILVA ribosomal RNA gene database project: improved data processing and web-based tools

Abstract: SILVA (from Latin silva, forest, http://www.arb-silva.de) is a comprehensive web resource for up to date, quality-controlled databases of aligned ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from the Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryota domains and supplementary online services. The referred database release 111 (July 2012) contains 3 194 778 small subunit and 288 717 large subunit rRNA gene sequences. Since the initial description of the project, substantial new features have been introduced, including advanced quality control procedures, an improved rRNA gene aligner, online tools for probe and primer evaluation and optimized browsing, searching and downloading on the website. Furthermore, the extensively curated SILVA taxonomy and the new non-redundant SILVA datasets provide an ideal reference for high-throughput classification of data from next-generation sequencing approaches.

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The MIQE Guidelines: Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments

Abstract: Background: Currently, a lack of consensus exists on how best to perform and interpret quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) experiments. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of sufficient experimental detail in many publications, which impedes a reader’s ability to evaluate critically the quality of the results presented or to repeat the experiments. Content: The Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines target the reliability of results to help ensure the integrity of the scientific literature, promote consistency between laboratories, and increase experimental transparency. MIQE is a set of guidelines that describe the minimum information necessary for evaluating qPCR experiments. Included is a checklist to accompany the initial submission of a manuscript to the publisher. By providing all relevant experimental conditions and assay characteristics, reviewers can assess the validity of the protocols used. Full disclosure of all reagents, sequences, and analysis methods is necessary to enable other investigators to reproduce results. MIQE details should be published either in abbreviated form or as an online supplement. Summary: Following these guidelines will encourage better experimental practice, allowing more reliable and unequivocal interpretation of qPCR results.

phyloseq: an R package for reproducible interactive analysis and graphics of microbiome census data.

Abstract: Background The analysis of microbial communities through DNA sequencing brings many challenges: the integration of different types of data with methods from ecology, genetics, phylogenetics, multivariate statistics, visualization and testing. With the increased breadth of experimental designs now being pursued, project-specific statistical analyses are often needed, and these analyses are often difficult (or impossible) for peer researchers to independently reproduce. The vast majority of the requisite tools for performing these analyses reproducibly are already implemented in R and its extensions (packages), but with limited support for high throughput microbiome census data. Results Here we describe a software project, phyloseq, dedicated to the object-oriented representation and analysis of microbiome census data in R. It supports importing data from a variety of common formats, as well as many analysis techniques. These include calibration, filtering, subsetting, agglomeration, multi-table comparisons, diversity analysis, parallelized Fast UniFrac, ordination methods, and production of publication-quality graphics; all in a manner that is easy to document, share, and modify. We show how to apply functions from other R packages to phyloseq-represented data, illustrating the availability of a large number of open source analysis techniques. We discuss the use of phyloseq with tools for reproducible research, a practice common in other fields but still rare in the analysis of highly parallel microbiome census data. We have made available all of the materials necessary to completely reproduce the analysis and figures included in this article, an example of best practices for reproducible research. Conclusions The phyloseq project for R is a new open-source software package, freely available on the web from both GitHub and Bioconductor.

Prokka: Rapid Prokaryotic Genome Annotation

Abstract: UNLABELLED: The multiplex capability and high yield of current day DNA-sequencing instruments has made bacterial whole genome sequencing a routine affair. The subsequent de novo assembly of reads into contigs has been well addressed. The final step of annotating all relevant genomic features on those contigs can be achieved slowly using existing web- and email-based systems, but these are not applicable for sensitive data or integrating into computational pipelines. Here we introduce Prokka, a command line software tool to fully annotate a draft bacterial genome in about 10 min on a typical desktop computer. It produces standards-compliant output files for further analysis or viewing in genome browsers. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Prokka is implemented in Perl and is freely available under an open source GPLv2 license from http://vicbioinformatics.com/.