A possible strategy to the viral population analysis of tick based on Batch Learning Self-Organizing Maps (BLSOMs). metagenomes

Ticks transmit a wide range of viral, bacterial, and protozoal pathogens, which are often zoonotic. The novel tick-borne viral pathogens have been reported during the past few years. The aim of this study was to investigate a diversity of tick viral populations, which may contain as-yet unidentified viruses, using a combination of high throughput pyrosequencing, BLAST search, and Batch Learning Self-Organizing Map (BLSOM) program, which provided pyrogenetic estimation based on the similarity of oligonucleotide frequencies. DNA/cDNA prepared from virus enriched fractions obtained from Ixodes persulcatus ticks was pyrosequencing. After de novo assembly contigs were classified using BLAST and BLSOM program.