Microtaxi

Microtaxi implements a gene-based taxonomic classification approach that identifies taxon-specific genes across taxonomic ranks to assign taxonomy to bacterial genomes.

Key Features:

• Gene-based classification: Uses taxon-specific genes as genetic markers for taxonomic assignment.
• Multi-rank markers: Identifies taxon-specific genes at different taxonomic ranks to distinguish species and higher categories.
• Genome coverage: Applies to both newly sequenced and existing bacterial genomes for taxonomy assignment.
• Empirical validation: Demonstrated on datasets including 2,342 genomes from the NCBI database, 36 newly sequenced genomes, and 17 genomes with incomplete taxonomic information.
• Content-focused approach: Relies on unique gene content rather than solely on traditional sequence similarity metrics.
• Improved resolution: Enhances discrimination among closely related species and higher taxonomic categories.

Scientific Applications:

• Bacterial genome taxonomy: Assigns taxonomic labels to whole bacterial genomes from sequencing projects and public repositories.
• Resolving incomplete annotations: Clarifies or completes taxonomic assignments for genomes with incomplete or uncertain taxonomy.
• Species and strain identification: Aids precise identification of bacterial species and strains for microbiology, ecology, and related research.

Methodology:

Identification of taxon-specific genes at different taxonomic ranks to serve as markers for taxonomic assignment, applied to datasets including 2,342 NCBI genomes, 36 newly sequenced genomes, and 17 genomes with incomplete taxonomy.