Amplicon_sorter: A tool for reference-free amplicon sorting based on sequence similarity and for building consensus sequences

Abstract

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) is a third-generation sequencing technology that is gaining popularity in ecological research for its portable and low-cost sequencing possibilities. Although the technology excels at long-read sequencing, it can also be applied to sequence amplicons. The downside of ONT is the low quality of the raw reads. Hence, generating a high-quality consensus sequence is still a challenge. We present Amplicon_sorter, a tool for reference-free sorting of ONT sequenced amplicons based on their similarity in sequence and length and for building solid consensus sequences.