Bioinformatics : A Practical Handbook of Next Generation Sequencing and Its Applications

Rapid technological developments have led to increasingly efficient sequencing approaches. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is increasingly common and has become cost-effective, generating an explosion of sequenced data that need to be analyzed. The skills required to apply computational analysis to target research on a wide range of applications that include identifying causes of cancer, vaccine design, new antibiotics, drug development, personalized medicine and higher crop yields in agriculture are highly sought after.

This invaluable book provides step-by-step guides to complex topics that make it easy for readers to perform essential analyses from raw sequenced data to answering important biological questions. It is an excellent hands-on material for teachers who conduct courses in bioinformatics and as a reference material for professionals. The chapters are written to be standalone recipes making it suitable for readers who wish to self-learn selected topics. Readers will gain skills necessary to work on sequenced data from NGS platforms and hence making themselves more attractive to employers who need skilled bioinformaticians to handle the deluge of data.

Readership: It is a necessary companion for undergraduates, graduate students, researchers and anyone interested in the exponentially growing field of bioinformatics.

"The book is a great practical introduction to the bioinformatics analysis of next generation sequencing data, covering all the major areas of analysis, from quality control and alignment to domain-specific analysis such as variant calling and transcriptomics. The book is highly practical with well-chosen and relevant exercises for readers who want to get their feet wet analysing sequencing data. It is excellent resource for conducting practical classes or workshops. The exercises are highly relevant and the book covers major areas for next generation bioinformatics, making it suitable for beginners, but also experienced practitioners looking to try out analyses in a different domain." -- Kenneth Hon Kim BAN, MBBS, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS, Assistant Principal Investigator, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR

"The language used is relatively easy to understand for non-bioinformaticians. Sufficient simplifications have been successfully done in describing complex concepts while still maintaining clarity. This is the book that I have been looking for. As a molecular geneticist starting to use NGS I find this book informative and practical for priming me with simple bioinformatics knowledge and skills." -- Teguh Haryo Sasongko, MD, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Human Genome Center, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia