FractBias: Graphical and Integrated Tool for Assessing Fractionation Bias after Whole Genome Duplications

Whole genome duplication and fractionation, the loss of duplicated genes, disrupt gene order within genomes over evolutionary time. FractBias is a new CoGe tool that assesses fractionation bias in a genome that has experienced a whole genome duplication event (query genome). The query genome is then compared to a close relative that did not experience that whole genome duplication (target genome). Syntenic regions are found using the SynMap tool, and then the percentage of retained genes on each chromosome of the query genome are graphed for every chromosome in the target genome. This permits the evaluation of bias among homeologous chromosomes, which has been demonstrated to be in an important driver shaping the evolution of genome structure.  Ultimately, genes from each genome can be exported for annotation to investigate how genome duplication, fractionation bias, and gene functions interplay.