Genome Assembly: Solving Real-World Sequencing Challenges

In theory, genome assembly is a clean mathematical puzzle, but real biological sequencing data is messy, error-prone, and complex. To work in modern bioinformatics, you must know how to transform raw, imperfect reads into accurate genomic drafts. This text-only course guides you through the practical challenges of genome assembly. You will learn to identify sequencing errors, manage coverage variations, and apply computational algorithms to reconstruct genomes from real-world data. What you'll learn: 1. Understand core genomics terminology and the biological foundations of DNA sequencing. 2. Analyze read errors and apply quality control techniques to preprocess raw sequencing data. 3. Explore k-mer counting and coverage analysis to estimate genome size and complexity. 4. Construct and resolve de Bruijn graphs to model overlapping sequence reads. 5. Generate and evaluate contigs while managing repeat regions and sequencing gaps. 6. Compare short-read and long-read sequencing technologies, including hybrid assembly strategies. The course begins with foundational concepts of sequencing technologies before moving into hands-on algorithmic logic and error correction. You will progress through step-by-step written explanations and conceptual exercises designed to build your bioinformatics problem-solving skills. This course is designed for aspiring bioinformaticians, biology students, and programmers transitioning to life sciences, with no advanced background in genetics required to start. Start learning how to decode real genomic data today.