UCSC Ebola Genome Portal

UCSC Ebola Genome Portal provides integrated access to Ebola virus genomic sequences, annotation tracks, and visualization features to support comparative genomics, evolutionary analysis, and vaccine-related research.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Genomic Data Integration: Includes 102 genomes from the ongoing outbreak, 56 genomes from previous outbreaks, and two Marburg genomes as an outgroup for comparative analyses.
• Annotation Tracks: Nearly 30 annotation tracks mapped to the reference sequence, including a multiple alignment track, NCBI gene annotations, UniProt protein annotations, and IEDB-curated antibody-binding epitopes.
• Enhanced Visualization: Extends the Genome Browser color-coding scheme to distinguish non-synonymous coding changes, synonymous changes, and alterations in untranslated regions.
• Resource Aggregation: Aggregates a curated collection of Ebola antibodies relevant to immunological studies and vaccine design.
• Genome Browser Adaptation: Implements an adaptation of the UCSC Genome Browser tailored specifically to the Ebola virus genome.

Scientific Applications:

• Comparative Genomics: Enables comparative genomic studies and evolutionary analysis using outbreak and historical Ebola genomes with Marburg outgroup comparison.
• Vaccine and Therapeutic Design: Supports identification and evaluation of antibody-binding epitopes (IEDB) and curated Ebola antibodies for vaccine and therapeutic development.
• Viral Evolution and Pathogenesis: Facilitates analysis of non-synonymous and synonymous mutations and UTR alterations relevant to viral evolution and pathogenesis.
• Epidemiological Surveillance: Supports tracking of strain variation across outbreaks for molecular epidemiology studies.

Methodology:

Annotation tracks and sequence data are mapped to an Ebola reference sequence and visualized via a multiple alignment track within an adaptation of the UCSC Genome Browser that extends its color-coding to categorize non-synonymous, synonymous, and untranslated region mutations.