Import Multi-Sequence Genbank Files into an Assembly Project for easy access to Features

There are many genomes in the Genbank database that cannot be downloaded as single annotated sequences. These might be large multi-chromosome eukaryotic genomes, but, increasingly, partially sequenced bacterial chromosomes where the major contigs have been annotated using the NCBI annotation pipeline. Typically, when you encounter these, there are options to download annotated versions of these […]

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RNASeq Expression Analysis with NGS data

If you have the Assembler module, MacVector can align millions of NGS reads from RNASeq experiments against large genomes and generate a coverage table displaying the relative expression levels of every gene in a genome. The key to this functionality is that you must have a reference genome with genes annotated as CDS or gene […]

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Use a right-click in the Contig Editor tab to see if your contig can be circularized

MacVector 16 incorporates no less than THREE different de novo assemblers, phrap, velvet and SPAdes. While all are great assemblers, with each having their own specific advantages, none of them will generate a circular sequence from input reads. However, MacVector 16 also includes a new feature to help you with this. If you are assembling […]

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101 things you (maybe) didn’t know about MacVector: #51 – Rapid assembly of genomes with Velvet and SPAdes

Not so long ago, to assemble even a small genome with Next Generation Sequencing data required an array of clustered computers and a lot of patience. But improvements in algorithms and hardware mean that it is now realistic to assemble bacterial genomes, or even smaller eukaryotic genomes using MacVector on a modest laptop machine. MacVector […]

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MacVector 16: Our latest release takes automatic sequence annotation to a whole new level

MacVector 16, our latest release, makes beautiful plasmid maps easier, and accurate de novo assembly achievable on your own desktop. Scan for.. Missing Features: Sequences are automatically scanned and missing features displayed. A simple right-click converts them to a permanent feature. Even blank sequences will be displayed fully annotated with common features. You can even […]

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Reference assembly with MacVector and Assembler

MacVector has a plugin module called Assembler that integrates directly into the main package and provides sequence assembly functionality. Assembler was designed from the ground up to be easy to use and allow users to easily manage the large amount of data that sequencing generates nowadays. The Assembler interface is built around the Assembly Project […]

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Use File->Export in the Contig Editor to save selected reads

Last week we covered the fact that you can use File->Export to save sequences or alignments in different formats. Delving down deeper into this, some of the views will save different types of data based on what you select in the format menu. The best example of this is the Contig Editor. If you choose […]

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How to save contig consensus sequences from assembly projects

The MacVector Assembler module lets you create projects, populate them with Sanger Sequencing or NGS data files (or any sequences in a format that MacVector can read) and then assemble them using the popular phrap and/or Velvet assemblers. Typically, the result will be a collection of contigs that you might want to use in additional […]

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Search fastq files and retrieve matching reads into paired fastq files

The Database | Align To Folder… function is essentially your own personal BLAST search of sequences on your computer, but with the advantage that you can scan fasta/fastq containing millions of entries and retrieve matching Reads into a new file. MacVector 14.5 added an enhancement where you can search paired-end read files and retrieve both […]

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Estimating insert length quickly for a read pair

[Edit December 20, 2017 – As of MacVector 15.5 you can simply right click a READ and select “SEE MATCHING READS” to view the pair of reads. The total sequence length is selected. ] Insert length is the length of the sequence in between a pair of reads. Sequencers are supplied DNA samples in fragments of […]

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