The Usability Testing of SSAAT, a Bioinformatic Web Application for DNA Analysis at a Nucleotide Level

V Mero,D Machuve

doi:10.48084/etasr.4107

Abstract

Sanger sequencing remains the cornerstone method for Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) sequencing due to its high accuracy in targeting smaller genomic regions in a larger number of samples. The analysis of Sanger sequence DNA data requires powerful and intelligent software tools. Most of the preferred tools are proprietary licensed tools that offer a user-friendly interface and have many features, however, their affordability, especially to individual scientists or students, is limited. On the other hand, a few free and open-source licensed tools are available but have limited features. This study focuses on the usability testing of the developed Sanger Sequence Automatic Analysis Tool (SSAAT), a free and open-source web tool for Sanger sequence analysis. Usability tests were conducted with potential users and the results demonstrate that the participants were able to use the tool easily and accomplish the test tasks at the given time. Moreover, the participants were excited with the easy-to-use interface and agreed that most users could use the tool with no need for technical assistance. However, the participants also identified some issues that require more development effort.

Highlights

IntroductionSanger sequencing technique is one of the most famous methods used for determining nucleotide sequences in Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) [1], due to its high sequencing accuracy compared to the Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies and its efficiency in sequencing short fragments of DNA, ranging from 200 base pairs (bp) to around 1,000 bp
The current study aims to explore the usability of Sanger Sequence Automatic Analysis Tool (SSAAT), which was developed as a user-friendly web tool for analyzing Sanger sequence data at the nucleotide level
The primary focus of this study was to examine the usability of the developed SSAAT tool

Summary

Introduction

Sanger sequencing technique is one of the most famous methods used for determining nucleotide sequences in DNA [1], due to its high sequencing accuracy compared to the Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies and its efficiency in sequencing short fragments of DNA, ranging from 200 base pairs (bp) to around 1,000 bp. Sanger sequencing is extensively used to the fields of functional and comparative genomics, evolutionary genetics, and complex disease research. The method was employed in sequencing the first human genome in 2000 [2]. The Sanger sequencing process is composed of a pipeline from the DNA extraction to the generation of a chromatogram which is stored as a file called AB1. This process can be seen in [3]

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Results

Conclusion