PICRUSt2

PICRUSt2 predicts microbial functions from amplicon sequencing data by reconstructing unobserved states using a database of annotated reference genomes.

Key Features:

• Updated Reference Database: PICRUSt2-SC (Sugar-Coated) increases bacterial genomes from 19,493 to 26,868 and archaeal genomes from 406 to 1,002, with additional functional annotations.
• Streamlined Database Construction: A new automated process replaces previous manual and computationally intensive steps to enable regular database upgrades.
• Improved Environmental Representation: The updated database contains genomes that more closely match study sequences from diverse environments, improving predicted functional annotations.

Scientific Applications:

• Microbial Function Prediction: Predicts functional annotations from amplicon sequencing data across different environments.
• Comparative Environmental Microbiology: Enables improved functional inference when study sequences derive from varied environmental sources due to better genome-environment matching.

Methodology:

PICRUSt2 predicts microbial functions using a database of annotated reference genomes. The PICRUSt2-SC database was constructed through a streamlined process to allow regular ongoing upgrades.