TBpop: an open-access genomic portal integrating genomic variation, population genetic statistics, phylogeny, pangenome composition, and strain metadata of epidemic Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from China
Tuberculosis remains a major global public health threat. While whole-genome sequencing has transformed our understanding of the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), existing genomic databases are highly fragmented and often underrepresent structural variations (SVs). Furthermore, critical population-genetic statistics are rarely integrated with phylogenetic and geographic context,…
Tuberculosis persists as a significant global concern. Genome sequencing has revolutionized our understanding of the bacterium responsible, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). However, existing genomic collections are scattered and frequently overlook structural variations (SVs). Moreover, essential population-genetic data rarely aligns with phylogenetic and geographic information, compelling researchers to manually merge disparate datasets.
To bridge this knowledge gap, scientists have created TBpop (https://tbpop.chinacdc.cn), an open-access platform for integrated population genomics. The platform draws from 420 clinical MTB isolates gathered during China's inaugural national drug resistance survey. TBpop consolidates isolate metadata, pangenome classifications, SNPs, SVs, IS6110 insertion sites, strain phylogeny, and gene-level metrics, offering three interactive explorer tools: the Population Explorer, the Statistics Explorer, and the Variation Explorer.
Furthermore, a User Analysis module empowers researchers to execute population genetic analyses on their own sequence alignments. TBpop serves as a unified hub for investigating MTB's genomic diversity, identifying positive selection indications, and mapping patterns of crucial gene preservation.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
