pLAST

pLAST is a computational tool for rapid comparison and classification of plasmid sequences based on their ORF composition.

It supports:

• Similarity search against plasmid databases using a single query
• Clustering of large plasmid datasets
• Fast and scalable comparative analysis

🌐 pLAST Web Interface

The online pLAST server is available here: 👉 https://plast.lbs.cent.uw.edu.pl/

It provides a convenient graphical interface for running searches and visualizing results without installing the software locally.

🛠️ Installation

Basic installation

pLAST requires Python version 3.9 to 3.12. You can install pLAST directly using:

pip install plast

🛠️ Full Installation Guide

Detailed installation instructions, including dependencies, environment setup, and optional components, are available in the documentation: 👉 Installation Documentation

🧪 Usage Examples

A collection of usage examples demonstrating how to run pLAST, perform searches, and analyze results is available at the following link: 👉 Usage Examples

These examples provide step-by-step instructions and practical workflows to help you get started quickly.

📊 Data Availability

All datasets used in the project are publicly available on Figshare: 👉 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30530819 👉 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30715637

📚 Documentation

Complete project documentation, including tutorials, examples, and API reference, is available at: 👉 https://labstructbioinf.github.io/pLAST

📄 Citation

If you use pLAST in your research, please cite:

pLAST - a tool for rapid comparison and classification of bacterial plasmid sequences Kamil Krakowski, Malgorzata Orlowska, Kamil Kaminski, Dariusz Bartosik, Stanislaw Dunin-Horkawicz bioRxiv 2025.11.27.689987; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.27.689987