Methods for the Metagenomic Data Visualization and Analysis

Surveys of environmental microbial communities using a metagenomic approach produce vast volumes of multidimensional data regarding the phylogenetic and functional composition of the microbiota. Faced with such complex data, a metagenomic researcher needs to select the means for data analysis properly. Data visualization became an indispensable part of the exploratory data analysis and serves a key to the discoveries. While the molecular genetic analysis of even a single bacterium presents multiple layers of data to be properly displayed and perceived, the studies of microbiota are significantly more challenging. Here we present a review of the state-of-the-art methods for the visualization of metagenomic data in a multilevel manner: from the methods applicable to an in-depth analysis of a single metagenome to the techniques appropriate for large-scale studies containing hundreds of environmental samples.