%A Richardson,Emily
%A Escalettes,Franck
%A Fotheringham,Ian
%A Wallace,Robert
%A Watson,Mick
%D 2013
%J Frontiers in Genetics
%C
%F
%G English
%K Metagenomics,database,protein,domain,web-service
%Q
%R 10.3389/fgene.2013.00168
%W
%L
%M
%P
%7
%8 2013-September-05
%9 Methods
%+ Mr Mick Watson,The Roslin Institute,Division of Genetics and Genomics,The Roslin Institute,Easter Bush,Edinburgh,EH25 9RG,United Kingdom,mick.watson@roslin.ed.ac.uk
%+ Mr Mick Watson,University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh Genomics,Edinburgh,United Kingdom,mick.watson@roslin.ed.ac.uk
%#
%! Meta4: database for metagenomics
%*
%<
%T Meta4: a web application for sharing and annotating metagenomic gene predictions using web services
%U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2013.00168
%V 4
%0 JOURNAL ARTICLE
%@ 1664-8021
%X 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