MapMyFlu: visualizing spatio-temporal relationships between related influenza sequences.
Understanding the molecular dynamics of viral spreading is crucial for anticipating the epidemiological implications of disease outbreaks. In the case of influenza, reassortments or point mutations affect the adaption to new hosts or resistance to anti-viral drugs and can determine whether a new strain will result in a pandemic infection or a less severe progression. To this end, tools integrating molecular information with epidemiological parameters are important to understand how molecular characteristics reflect in the infection dynamics. We present a new web tool, MapMyFlu, which allows to spatially and temporally display influenza viruses related to a query sequence on a Google Map based on BLAST results against the NCBI Influenza Database. Temporal and geographical trends appear clearly and may help in reconstructing the evolutionary history of a particular sequence. The tool is accessible through a web server, hence without the need for local installation. The website has an intuitive design and provides an easy-to-use service, and is available at http://mapmyflu.ipmb.uni-heidelberg.de.
Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, and Bioquant Center, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, Heidelberg 69120, Germany Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
Nicholas
N
Nolte
Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, and Bioquant Center, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, Heidelberg 69120, Germany Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
Nils
N
Kurzawa
Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, and Bioquant Center, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, Heidelberg 69120, Germany Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
Roland
R
Eils
Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, and Bioquant Center, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, Heidelberg 69120, Germany Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, Heidelberg 69120, Germany carl.herrmann@uni-heidelberg.de.
Carl
C
Herrmann
D000818:Animals; D003196:Computer Graphics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D005777:Geese; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D020407:Internet; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D012984:Software