Kourami

Kourami reconstructs HLA allele sequences and performs high-resolution typing of classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes from high-coverage whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data to enable accurate typing and discovery of novel alleles.

Key Features:

• Graph-Guided Assembly: Employs a graph-guided assembly technique tailored to classical HLA genes to construct allele sequences from high-coverage whole-genome sequencing data.
• Novel Allele Discovery: Identifies and types alleles absent from existing allele databases, enabling discovery of novel HLA alleles.
• High Accuracy: Produces high-resolution HLA typing with accuracy comparable to state-of-the-art methods for both known and uncharacterized alleles.

Scientific Applications:

• Clinical Immunogenetics: Provides precise HLA genotypes for organ transplantation matching and studies of autoimmune disease.
• Research: Facilitates investigations of immune response mechanisms and genetic associations by supplying assembled HLA allele sequences.

Methodology:

Kourami uses a graph-based framework that integrates high-coverage whole-genome sequencing data to perform guided assembly of HLA allele sequences and to enable typing independent of existing allele databases.