Jan 09, 2026
Version 2
Quality control assessment for microbial genomes: GalaxyTrakr MicroRunQC workflow V.2
Version 1 is forked from Quality control assessment for microbial genomes: GalaxyTrakr MicroRunQC workflow
- Candace Bias1,
- Ruth Timme1,
- Yesha Shrestha2,
- Tina Pfefer3,
- Paul Morin4,
- Maria Balkey3,
- Errol Strain3
- 1US Food and Drug Administration;
- 2Center for Veterinary Medicine, US Food and Drug Administration;
- 3Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, College Park, Maryland, USA;
- 4U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jamaica, New York, USA
- GenomeTrakrTech. support email: [email protected]
Protocol Citation: Candace Bias, Ruth Timme, Yesha Shrestha, Tina Pfefer, Paul Morin, Maria Balkey, Errol Strain 2026. Quality control assessment for microbial genomes: GalaxyTrakr MicroRunQC workflow. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.261ge138dv47/v2Version created by Maria Balkey
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: January 09, 2026
Last Modified: January 09, 2026
Protocol Integer ID: 238313
Keywords: WGS, Quality Control, GalaxyTrakr, GenomeTrakr, microbial pathogen survielliance, galaxytrakr microrunqc workflow, galaxytrakr microrunqc workflow purpose, quick access to genometrakr sequence quality threshold, wgs sequence quality for bacterial pathogen, quality control assessment for microbial genome, genometrakr sequence quality threshold, check against genometrakr qc, microrunqc workflow, microrunqc, genometrakr qc, microbial genome, checking wgs sequence quality, quality assessments for raw read, genometrakr, microbial pathogen, galaxytrakr, most microbial pathogen, bacterial pathogen, sequence type for each isolate, sequence type definition file, de novo assembly, available in sequence type definition file, end fastq file, pathogen, galaxytrakr account, raw read, cronobacter threshold, account in galaxytrakr, custom galaxy instance, mlst method, quality control assessment, assembly qc, added enterobacter qc, additional mlst data field, galaxytrakr upgrade, nextseq, entire miseq
Disclaimer
Please note that this protocol is public domain, which supersedes the CC-BY license default used by protocols.io.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Step-by-step instructions for checking WGS sequence quality for bacterial pathogens. The MicroRunQC workflow, implemented in a custom Galaxy instance, will produce quality assessments for raw reads (Illumina paired-end fastq files) and draft de novo assemblies, along with reporting the sequence type for each isolate. This workflow will work on most microbial pathogens, so we advise laboratories to upload their entire MiSeq/NextSeq run through this workflow.
SCOPE: This protocol covers the following tasks:
1. Quick access to GenomeTrakr sequence quality thresholds by organism
2. Create a GalaxyTrakr account
3. Set up an account in GalaxyTrakr
4. Create a new history/workspace
5. Upload data
6. Execute the MicroRunQC workflow
7. Interpret the results - check against GenomeTrakr QC thresholds
Version updates:
V7: Edits to incorporate GalaxyTrakr upgrades and new interface.
V6: Minor edits, including section reorganization and addition of clarifying notes
V5: New column in the output table to capture additional mlst data fields when available in Sequence Type definition files (not available for all species)
V4: MicroRunQC updated to V1.1 Includes updates to skeza and mlst methods, as well as adjusted assembly QC thresholds for E.coli. Added Enterobacter QC thresholds to threshold table.
V3: updated with Cronobacter thresholds
Troubleshooting
Quick Access to QC Benchmarks
This protocol will walk the user through various aspects of the quality assessment of bacterial genome sequences, from setting up a GalaxyTrakr account to the quality control (QC) benchmarks GenomeTrakr uses for its sequencing efforts. For quick access, GenomeTrakr QC benchmarks are included in the table below.
These are also relevant for NARMS and VetLIRN contributors.
*MicroRunQC users should follow QC threshold guidelines established by their respective surveillance coordinating body(s).
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
| Quality metric | Salmonella | Listeria | E. coli | Shigella | Campylobacter | Vibrio para. | Cronobacter | Enterococcus faecium | Enterococcus faecalis | |
| Average read quality Q score for R1 and R2 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | >=30 | |
| Average coverage | >=30X | >=20X | >=40X | >=40X | >=20X | >=40X | >=20X | >=50X | >=40X | |
| De novo assembly: Seq. length (Mbp) | ~4.3-5.2 | ~2.7-3.2 | ~4.5-5.9 | ~4.0-5.0 | ~1.5-1.9 | ~4.8-5.5 | ~4-5 | ~2.5-3.5 | ~2.5-3.25 | |
| De novo assembly: no. contigs | <=300 | <=300 | <=400 | <=550 | <=300 | <=300 | <=500 | <=350 | <=200 |
Account set up
- Create a GalaxyTrakr account here: https://account.galaxytrakr.org/Account/Register
Note
This is a more detailed form than what is available by clicking "Register here" on the genometrakr.org main page. Please use the form linked here when creating a new account.
Create a new history
Create a new history.
We recommend creating a new history for each new MiSeq Run and including the flow-cell ID and date in the history name.
Save your MicroRunQC output here and any other relevant analyses, like serotyping, or AMR detection.
After all the analysis output from this run is saved to your internal data network or computer, older histories should be purged/deleted so as not to occupy the limited storage space in your account. In some cases it may be useful to save, for a limited time, multiple histories or to run analyses concurrently in multiple histories. In these cases you need to pay attention to your % usage bar (shows % used of allocated storage space) in the upper right corner of the GalaxyTrakr page. If you need additional space you can contact [email protected] and request additional storage.
Click on the + icon in the upper right History panel
Name your new History by clicking on the “Unnamed history" text, type in desired name, and hit Enter. We recommend including the run cell ID and the date the run was started.
Upload data
This section will describe the process for uploading raw fastq files into your active History panel. After the files have been uploaded they will stay in your account until they are deleted.
Click on the Upload icon in the GalaxyTrakr menu to start an upload process.
Select "Type (set all):auto-detect." Click "Choose local files" button and navigate to the desired fastq files, then click "Start" to upload files. These files should be paired (two per sample/isolate).
As the file uploads complete, each row will turn green. Samples in yellow are still in process.
You have just upload a set of forward and reverse reads. For further analysis, these files need to be paired properly so the platform knows which R1 and R2 files go together. GalaxyTrakr does this by creating a List of Dataset Pairs.
Within your newly created History panel, click the check mark box, then select all the files you just uploaded.
Screenshot of History panel showing recently uploaded files. Note the way the files are named, using R1 and R2 to identify the paired reads. This will be important in the next step. Some naming conventions can be slightly different.
Click "Select All" and choose "Advance Build List", select "List of Paired Datasets"
A new window will open to help you pair the fastq files properly. By default _R1 and _R2 are the selected options to pair fastq files. Note how your paired reads are named.
Click on the filter icon if “_R1”,"_R2" have to be replaced by other suffix.
Click Next, double check the name of the datasets. If the names are accurate, name the List of Paired Datasets and click Build.
This List of Paired Datasets will be available for analysis in your history panel. You can run multiple analyses on the same dataset rather than upload the same sequence data to a new history to perform additional analyses. This will help you use your allocated storage space efficiently.
Run the MicroRunQC workflow
Add the MicroRunQC workflow to your own "Workflows" panel. You only have to do this step once for each new workflow you need.
Navigate to the "Workflow“ tab on the main menu, click "Public workflows", and search for "MicroRunQC_v1.2."
Click "Import" to select MicroRunQC.
To see the new imported workflow, click the “Workflow” tab on the main menu, click "My Workflows.
Click the star to bookmark this workflow.
Click the play icon to run the MicroRunQC_v1.2 and select the dataset collection that was created earlier.
Click Run Workflow. This can take some time depending on the number of samples you are analyzing. If you choose to you can log out of GalaxyTrakr and log back in at a later time to see if the job is completed.
Upon completion of the pipeline all tiles in the History pane will be green and each of the steps in the pipeline will show "completed".
In the “MicroRunQC_v1_2_Report” tile, click on the “Eye” icon to view the output table in the GalaxyTrakr window.
Interpret the results
Download and interpret the results:
Click MicroRunQC_v1.2_Report and then the floppy disc icon. The tabular file can be opened in a text reader or converted to a format (.txt) that can be opened in Excel.
The MicroRunQC output file includes the following columns:
| A | B | C | |
| Parameter | Input | Description | |
| Contigs | Assembly | Number of contigs in the de-novo SKESA assembly. Contigs smaller than 200 base-pairs (bp) are not counted. | |
| Length | Assembly | Total length of all contigs > 200bp. This should approximate the size of the genome for the target organism. | |
| EstCov | Assembly | Mean coverage for contigs in the SKESA assembly. | |
| N50 | Assembly | Sequence length of the shortest contig at 50% of the total genome length | |
| MedianInsert | Read | Distance between forward and reverse reads. Calculated by mapping reads to SKESA assembly using bwa. | |
| MeanLength_R1 | Read | Mean length of forward read | |
| MeanLength_R2 | Read | Mean length of reverse read | |
| MeanQ_R1 | Read | Mean Q-score of forward read | |
| MeanQ_R2 | Read | Mean Q-score of reverse read | |
| Scheme | Assembly | PubMLST scheme name (output from mlst application that scans contig files against traditional PubMLST typing schemes. | |
| ST | Assembly | Sequence Type | |
| MLST extra | Assembly | e.g. Listeria clonal complex info | |
| Loci | Assembly | gene (allele number) – for example aroC(118) |
MicroRunQC output table headers. This table lists the summary metrics for sequence quality, number of contigs, and estimated genome size, along with other common metrics for reads (Median Insert Size and Mean Length) and assemblies (N50). Additionally, if the Multi-Locus Sequence Type (MLST) for the isolate is available from pubmlst, the workflow also reports Sequence Type (ST) and the associated alleles.
*MLST extra: Additional data fields reported when available in Sequence Type definition files (not available for all species)
1. clonal_complex – sequences grouped by similarity to central allelic profile (e.g., Campylobacter ST-21 complex)
2. CC – clonal_complex – Abbreviation used for organism like Listeria, ST profiles are maintained by different groups
3. Lineage – Listeria monocytogenes lineage (I,II,III, and IV), Listeria species also reported here (e.g.L.innocua)
4. species – e.g., Vibrio alginolyticus
**This output should be saved either to your LIMS or to a spreadsheet linked to the sequencing run and samples.
Example output for 1 Salmonella and 5 Listeria isolates.
| A | B | |
| Srain ID | Lab Confirmation | |
| FDA1216271-C001-001 | Listeria mono | |
| FDA817806-S073-001 | Listeria mono | |
| FDA746634 | Listeria mono | |
| FDA1213377-C001-002 | Listeria grayi | |
| FDA933376-S060-005 | Listeria innocua | |
| FDA1213835-C001-001 | Salmonella |
Lab confirmed IDs for 6 isolates
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | |
| File | Contigs | Length | EstCov | N50 | Median Insert | Mean Length_R1 | Mean Length_R2 | Mean Q_R1 | Mean Q_R2 | Scheme | ST | MLST extra | ||||||||
| FDA1216271-C001-001 | 16 | 2911949 | 36.7 | 476210 | 321 | 148.4 | 148.4 | 36.4 | 34.6 | listeria_2 | 5 | CC=CC5,Lineage=I | abcZ(2) | bglA(1) | cat(11) | dapE(3) | dat(3) | ldh(1) | lhkA(7) | |
| FDA817806-S073-001 | 20 | 3068354 | 179.6 | 525438 | 329 | 234.7 | 235.2 | 36.7 | 31.9 | listeria_2 | 321 | CC=CC321,Lineage=II | abcZ(5) | bglA(6) | cat(8) | dapE(62) | dat(6) | ldh(7) | lhkA(34) | |
| FDA746634 | 30 | 3052888 | 41.4 | 293947 | 320 | 148.4 | 148.4 | 36.5 | 36 | listeria_2 | - | abcZ(2) | bglA(1) | cat(11) | dapE(3) | dat(3) | ldh(1) | lhkA(~7) | ||
| FDA1213377-C001-002 | 20 | 2672180 | 155.1 | 473181 | 270 | 147.3 | 147.3 | 37.2 | 36.1 | - | - | |||||||||
| FDA933376-S060-005 | 9 | 2881869 | 213 | 1498790 | 303 | 232.1 | 232.2 | 37 | 36.2 | listeria_2 | 1489 | CC=CC1489,Lineage=L. innocua | abcZ(250) | bglA(21) | cat(83) | dapE(298) | dat(20) | ldh(458) | lhkA(216) | |
| FDA1213835-C001-001 | 37 | 4832365 | 34.4 | 294936 | 354 | 149 | 149 | 36.6 | 35.7 | senterica_achtman_2 | 214 | aroC(14) | dnaN(72) | hemD(21) | hisD(12) | purE(6) | sucA(19) | thrA(15) |
MicroRunQC example report showing mlst ST results for different Listeria species.
The mlst Listeria database includes multiple species, including Listeria monocytogenes and L. innocua. When available, the Listeria clonal complex (CC) or L. monocytogenes lineage is listed alongside the ST.
For quality control threshold guidelines for the GenomeTrakr surveillance network, These are also relevant for NARMS and VetLIRN contributors.
*MicroRunQC users should follow QC threshold guidelines established by their respective surveillance coordinating body(s).