Baa.pl: A tool to evaluate de novo genome assemblies with RNA transcripts

Abstract

Assessing the correctness of genome assemblies is an important step in any genome project. Several methods exist, but most are computationally intensive and, in some cases, inappropriate. Here I present baa.pl, a fast and easy-to-use program that uses transcript data to evaluate genomic assemblies. Through simulations using human chromosome 22, I show that baa.pl excels at detecting levels of missing sequence and contiguity. The program is freely available at: https://github.com/josephryan/baa.pl