Assessing the Quality of Genome Assemblies using QUAST

A step-by-step guide on how to use QUAST to assess and compare the quality of genome assemblies

The assembly algorithms that have been developed so far intend to provide better assemblies evaluated under different criteria. Hence, depending on the specific scenario the assembly process might produce better results if we use the most appropriate assembler. Even though contiguous genomes may not be produced, segments from the reference genomes can be obtained using existing assembly methods. Therefore, the need to evaluate the quality of assemblies exists. These evaluations help researchers to pick different assemblers for different scenarios.

How can we know whether the assemblies we obtain from reads using currently available assemblers are correct or not? In this article, we will see how to determine the quality of assemblies using QUAST, which is one of the most famous assessment tools available for genome assemblies. Let’s get started.

What is QUAST?

QUAST stands for QUality Assessment Tool. QUAST can evaluate assemblies using reference genomes, as well as without reference genomes. QUAST produces detailed reports, tables and plots which show the different aspects of assemblies.

Download QUAST

You can go to the official website of QUAST and click on the DOWNLOAD button.