Utilizing Deep Neural Networks to Fill Gaps in Small Genomes.

Journal: International journal of molecular sciences
PMID:

Abstract

With the widespread adoption of next-generation sequencing technologies, the speed and convenience of genome sequencing have significantly improved, and many biological genomes have been sequenced. However, during the assembly of small genomes, we still face a series of challenges, including repetitive fragments, inverted repeats, low sequencing coverage, and the limitations of sequencing technologies. These challenges lead to unknown gaps in small genomes, hindering complete genome assembly. Although there are many existing assembly software options, they do not fully utilize the potential of artificial intelligence technologies, resulting in limited improvement in gap filling. Here, we propose a novel method, DLGapCloser, based on deep learning, aimed at assisting traditional tools in further filling gaps in small genomes. Firstly, we created four datasets based on the original genomes of , , , and . To further extract effective information from the gene sequences, we also added homologous genomes to enrich the datasets. Secondly, we proposed the DGCNet model, which effectively extracts features and learns context from sequences flanking gaps. Addressing issues with early pruning and high memory usage in the Beam Search algorithm, we developed a new prediction algorithm, Wave-Beam Search. This algorithm alternates between expansion and contraction phases, enhancing efficiency and accuracy. Experimental results showed that the Wave-Beam Search algorithm improved the gap-filling performance of assembly tools by 7.35%, 28.57%, 42.85%, and 8.33% on the original results. Finally, we established new gap-filling standards and created and implemented a novel evaluation method. Validation on the genomes of , , , and showed that DLGapCloser increased the number of filled gaps by 8.05%, 15.3%, 1.4%, and 7% compared to traditional assembly tools.

Authors

  • Yu Chen
    State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • Gang Wang
    National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
  • Tianjiao Zhang
    College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.