| name | motus |
| description | Marker-gene taxonomic profiling across environments (mOTUs3). Use this skill when working with motus: installing, choosing parameters, running commands, interpreting outputs, or troubleshooting. Upstream: https://github.com/motu-tool/mOTUs. For stage routing use tool-selection / metagenomics-workflow.
|
| license | MIT |
| category | analysis-tools |
| tags | ["taxonomy","marker","profile"] |
| upstream | https://github.com/motu-tool/mOTUs |
| stage | taxonomy |
mOTUs
Upstream: mOTUs
Citation
Ruscheweyh, H.-J. et al. Cultivation-independent genomes greatly expand taxonomic-profiling capabilities of mOTUs across various environments. Microbiome 10, 212 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-022-01410-z
See also docs/references.md.
Analytical thinking
mOTUs profiles communities with a curated set of universal single-copy
phylogenetic marker genes, updated with cultivation-independent genomes so
environmental / non-human biomes are better covered than early gut-centric
releases.
Compared with MetaPhlAn:
| mOTUs | MetaPhlAn 4 |
|---|
| Marker philosophy | Mostly universal SCGs → mOTU clusters | Clade-/SGB-specific marker packs |
| Strength | Cross-environment comparability | Fine SGB resolution incl. unknowns |
| Merge rule | Do not average with Kraken/MetaPhlAn unlabeled | |
Pin mOTUs DB version; host-deplete first.
How to run
motus profile -f clean_1.fq.gz -r clean_2.fq.gz -t 16 -o temp/motus/${id}.motus
Key parameters
| Item | Notes |
|---|
| DB | motus download-db — pin version |
-t | Threads |
| Downstream | Diversity / ecology tables — not MAG taxonomy (gtdbtk) |
Related skills
metaphlan · kraken2 · sylph · metabuli · tool-selection · metagenomics-workflow
