Software application profile: MeltingPlot, a user-friendly online tool for epidemiological investigation using High Resolution Melting data

AbstractMotivationGenomic investigations show that nosocomial outbreaks can be sustained by the simultaneous spreading of multiple pathogen clones. Rapid pathogen typing and real-time clones monitoring is a key strategy to control pathogen spreading in hospital settings. A novel approach to High Resolution Melting (HRM) data analysis allows pathogen typing in less than 5 hours. MeltingPlot is the first tool specifically designed for epidemiological investigations using HRM data. The tool is suitable for large real-time surveillance and rapid outbreak reconstructions.ImplementationMeltingPlot was developed in R. The web tool and the standalone versions are available.General featuresThe tool implements a graph-based algorithm designed to discriminate pathogen clones on the basis of HRM data, producing portable typing results. MeltingPlot also merges typing information with isolates and patients metadata to create graphical and tabular outputs useful in epidemiological investigations.AvailabilityThe web interface is available at https://skynet.unimi.it/index.php/tools/meltingplot, the standalone version at https://github.com/MatteoPS/MeltingPlot.