BacSeqer: Read simulator for bacterial RNA-Seq

Abstract

The RNA-Seq method has become a key tool in transcriptomics, providing deep insight into the genetic functioning of organisms. It is essential for understanding how genes are expressed, for discovering new gene variants and for understanding pathologies at the genetic level. RNA-Seq simulators are great for testing and validating bioinformatics tools, they offer a way to compare different computational algorithms and allow examining different sequencing protocols, parameter settings and sample sizes to ensure the most efficient use of resources. This study introduces BacSeqer, an RNA-Seq simulator specifically designed for bacterial transcriptomes with the aim of producing data that faithfully resembles those obtained in real experiments. It allows to take into account the specificities of the bacterial genome, especially an existence of only exons and their organization in operons that are not normally present in eukaryotes.