Y_MAP: A pipeline for visualization of copy number variation and loss of heterozygosity in eukaryotic pathogens

The design of effective antimicrobial therapies for serious eukaryotic pathogens requires a clear understanding of their highly variable genomes. To facilitate analysis of copy number variations, single nucleotide polymorphisms and loss of heterozygosity events in these pathogens, we developed a pipeline for analyzing diverse genome-scale datasets from microarray, deep sequencing, and restriction site associated DNA sequence experiments for clinical and laboratory strains of Candida albicans, the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. The Y_MAP pipeline ( http://lovelace.cs.umn.edu/Ymap/ ) automatically illustrates genome-wide information in a single intuitive figure and is readily modified for the analysis of other pathogens with small genomes.