AUTHOR=Richardson Emily J., Escalettes Franck , Fotheringham Ian , Wallace Robert J., Watson Mick TITLE=Meta4: a web application for sharing and annotating metagenomic gene predictions using web services JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=4 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2013.00168 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2013.00168 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=

Whole-genome shotgun metagenomics experiments produce DNA sequence data from entire ecosystems, and provide a huge amount of novel information. Gene discovery projects require up-to-date information about sequence homology and domain structure for millions of predicted proteins to be presented in a simple, easy-to-use system. There is a lack of simple, open, flexible tools that allow the rapid sharing of metagenomics datasets with collaborators in a format they can easily interrogate. We present Meta4, a flexible and extensible web application that can be used to share and annotate metagenomic gene predictions. Proteins and predicted domains are stored in a simple relational database, with a dynamic front-end which displays the results in an internet browser. Web services are used to provide up-to-date information about the proteins from homology searches against public databases. Information about Meta4 can be found on the project website1, code is available on Github2, a cloud image is available, and an example implementation can be seen at