Book Image

Bioinformatics with Python Cookbook - Third Edition

By : Tiago Antao
Book Image

Bioinformatics with Python Cookbook - Third Edition

By: Tiago Antao

Overview of this book

Bioinformatics is an active research field that uses a range of simple-to-advanced computations to extract valuable information from biological data, and this book will show you how to manage these tasks using Python. This updated third edition of the Bioinformatics with Python Cookbook begins with a quick overview of the various tools and libraries in the Python ecosystem that will help you convert, analyze, and visualize biological datasets. Next, you'll cover key techniques for next-generation sequencing, single-cell analysis, genomics, metagenomics, population genetics, phylogenetics, and proteomics with the help of real-world examples. You'll learn how to work with important pipeline systems, such as Galaxy servers and Snakemake, and understand the various modules in Python for functional and asynchronous programming. This book will also help you explore topics such as SNP discovery using statistical approaches under high-performance computing frameworks, including Dask and Spark. In addition to this, you’ll explore the application of machine learning algorithms in bioinformatics. By the end of this bioinformatics Python book, you'll be equipped with the knowledge you need to implement the latest programming techniques and frameworks, empowering you to deal with bioinformatics data on every scale.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)

Deploying a variant analysis pipeline with Nextflow

There are two main players in the pipeline framework space in bioinformatics: snakemake and Nextflow. They provide pipeline functionality whilst having different design approaches. Snakemake is based on Python, but its language and philosophy come from the make tool used to compile complex programs with dependencies. Nextflow is Java-based (more precisely, it’s implemented in Groovy – a language that works on top of the Java Virtual Machine) and has its own Domain Specific Language (DSL) for implementing pipelines. The main purpose of this recipe (and the previous recipe) is to give you a flavor of Nextflow so that you can compare it with snakemake and choose the one that better suits your needs.

TIP

There are many perspectives on how to evaluate a pipeline system. Here, we present a perspective based on the language used to specify the pipeline. However, there are others that you should consider when choosing...