SortMeRNA

SortMeRNA is a bioinformatics tool designed for the identification and classification of small RNA molecules in metatranscriptomic datasets. It is particularly useful in the analysis of RNA-seq data from complex microbial communities, where the presence of small RNAs such as tRNAs, rRNAs, and other non-coding RNAs can obscure the detection of biologically relevant small RNAs like miRNAs and piRNAs. SortMeRNA operates by aligning sequencing reads to a reference database of known small RNAs, allowing for the discrimination between different types of small RNAs based on their sequence similarity. The tool is implemented in C++ and is optimized for performance, making it suitable for large-scale metatranscriptomic analyses. SortMeRNA can be used as a standalone tool or integrated into larger bioinformatics pipelines. Its output includes classified reads, which can be further analyzed to gain insights into the functional roles of small RNAs in microbial communities. The tool is freely available and has been widely adopted in the research community for its accuracy and efficiency in small RNA classification.