Bioinformatics Tutorials leveraging the BioExtract Server

The BioExtract Server (bioextract.org) is a Web-based system designed to aid researchers in the analysis of distributed life science data using distributed analytic tools by providing a platform to facilitate the creation of bioinformatic workflows. Scientific workflows are created within the system initially by recording the task sequence performed by the user. These tasks may include querying multiple data sources, saving query results as searchable data extracts, and executing local and Web-accessible analytic tools. The series of recorded tasks can then optionally be saved as a reproducible workflow and is available for subsequent re-execution with the same or modified input. In order to handle the vast quantities of biological data generated by high-throughput experimental technologies, the BioExtract Server (bioextract.org) has leveraged iPlant Collaborative (www.iplantcollaborative.org) functionality through their AGAVE REST API to help address big data storage and analysis issues in the bioinformatics field. Leveraging the iPlant cyberinfrastructure has several key advantages: 1) it provides the ability to easily manage, analysis, and share big data, 2) it provides large scale computation support, 3) it is open for the community to contribute new analytic applications, 4) it allows users to easily integrate their analytic tools with other popular application in the development of automated workflows. The integration of iPlant resources through their API has opened up the ability for researchers to easily integrate their own analytic tools into the BioExtract Server, allowing them to be executed on a HPC platform, shared with collaborators, and included in analytic workflows. Because of its ease-of-use, the BioExtract Server offers a great platform for Bioinformatics instruction.