damidseq_pipeline: an automated pipeline for processing DamID sequencing datasets

DamID is a powerful technique for identifying regions of the genome bound by a DNA-binding (or DNA-associated) protein. Currently no method exists for automatically processing next-generation sequencing DamID (DamID-seq) data, and the use of DamID-seq datasets with normalisation based on read-counts alone can lead to high background and the loss of bound signal. DamID-seq thus presents novel challenges in terms of normalisation and background minimisation. We describe here damidseq_pipeline, a software pipeline that performs automatic normalisation and background reduction on multiple DamID-seq FASTQ or BAM datasets. Single replicate profiling of pol II occupancy in 3rd instar larval neuroblasts of Drosophila