MG-RAST (Metagenome Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology) is a fully-automated service for annotating metagenome samples. It provides annotation of sequence fragments, their phylogenetic classification and an initial metabolic reconstruction. The service also provides means for comparing phylogenetic classifications and metabolic reconstructions of metagenomes.

The service is built as a modified version of the RAST server, which was originally designed to support high-quality annotation of complete or draft microbial genomes. We have adapted this technology for the analysis of metagenomes and are currently able to handle fasta files generated by pyrosequencing (454) and Sanger sequencing data. In addition to SEED and  NMPDR data we use the following ribosomal RNA databases for our analyses: GREENGENES, RDP-II, SILVA, and European ribosomal RNA database.

User submission and analysis are confidential, although each user may optionally allow a collaborative environment that enables multiple users to share datasets. In addition, users can also allow public access and request long-term storage of their metagenomic samples on the server. The server provides unique IDs for metagenomes and the sequences they contain and provides a stable mechanism for linking to. All data and analysis are available for download in a variety of different formats.

To be able to contact you once the computation is finished and in case user intervention is required, we request that users register with a valid email address.

We request that users register with a valid email address so we can contact you once the computation is finished or in case user intervention is required.

If you use our service, please cite:
The Metagenomics RAST server - A public resource for the automatic phylogenetic and functional analysis of metagenomes F. Meyer, D. Paarmann, M. D'Souza, R. Olson , E. M. Glass, M. Kubal, T. Paczian , A. Rodriguez , R. Stevens, A. Wilke, J. Wilkening, R. A. Edwards
BMC Bioinformatics 2008, 9:386 , [article]