TraceTrack, an open-source software for batch processing, alignment and visualization of sanger sequencing chromatograms

Abstract

Motivation: Despite the advent of next-generation sequencing technology and its widespread applications, Sanger sequencing remains instrumental for molecular biology subcloning work in biological and medical research and indispensable for drug discovery campaigns. Although Sanger sequencing technology has been long established, existing software for processing and visualization of trace file chromatograms is limited in terms of functionality, scalability and availability for commercial use. Results: To fill this gap, we developed TraceTrack, an open-source web application tool for batch alignment, analysis and visualization of Sanger trace files. TraceTrack offers high-throughput matching of trace files to reference sequences, rapid identification of mutations and an intuitive chromatogram analysis. Comparative analysis between TraceTrack and existing software tools highlights the advantages of TraceTrack with regards to batch processing, visualization and export functionalities. Availability and implementation: TraceTrack is available at https://github.com/MSDLLCpapers/TraceTrack and as a web application at https:// tracetrack.dichlab.org. TraceTrack is a web application for batch processing and visualization of Sanger trace file chromatograms that meets the increasing demand of industrial sequence validation workflows in pharmaceutical settings.