MG-RAST

MG-RAST, which stands for Metagenome Rapid Annotation using Subsystems Technology, is an open-source pipeline that aims to provide high-performance computing for researchers interested in using metagenomics. The pipeline automates the functional assignments of sequences in the metagenome by comparing both protein and nucleotide databases. Moreover, it generates phylogenetic and functional summaries of the metagenomes and integrates tools for comparative metagenomics into the standard views.

One of the benefits of using MG-RAST is its user access control, which ensures data privacy while providing a collaborative environment for sharing datasets between multiple users. It has a stable, extensible, and freely available back-end that houses abstract data types, and built-in support for multiple data sources.

Thus, the open-source metagenomics RAST service provides a new paradigm for annotating and analyzing metagenomes, removing one of the primary bottlenecks in metagenome sequence analysis - the availability of high-performance computing for annotating the data. Researchers can retain full control of their data; everything is available for download in various formats.