%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