smalldisco

smalldisco identifies and quantifies small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) from small RNA sequencing datasets, enabling discovery, annotation, and analysis of siRNA populations.

Key Features:

• siRNA Discovery: Identifies short reads that map antisense to annotated genomic features such as exons or mRNAs as candidate siRNAs.
• Annotation and Quantification: Annotates identified siRNAs by associating them with genomic contexts and quantifies their abundance to report expression levels.
• 3' Tail Analysis: Uses Tailor to quantify 3' nontemplated nucleotides in siRNAs and other small RNA species.

Scientific Applications:

• Gene Regulation Studies: Enables investigation of siRNA-mediated gene silencing by identifying and quantifying antisense siRNAs.
• RNA Biology Research: Supports studies of small RNA biogenesis and post-transcriptional modifications, including analyses of 3' nontemplated nucleotides.
• Transcriptomics: Provides detailed small RNA population profiles for comprehensive transcriptomic analyses.

Methodology:

Processes small RNA-seq datasets through mapping, annotation, and quantification steps using existing genomic annotations and employs Tailor for analysis of 3' nontemplated nucleotide modifications.