Improved metagenomic analysis with Kraken 2

Abstract

Abstract Although Kraken’s k-mer-based approach provides a fast taxonomic classification of metagenomic sequence data, its large memory requirements can be limiting for some applications. Kraken 2 improves upon Kraken 1 by reducing memory usage by 85%, allowing greater amounts of reference genomic data to be used, while maintaining high accuracy and increasing speed fivefold. Kraken 2 also introduces a translated search mode, providing increased sensitivity in viral metagenomics analysis.

Keywords

• Metagenomics
• Metagenomics classification
• Microbiome
• Probabilistic data structures
• Alignment-free methods
• Minimizers