Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has made it easier to obtain genome-wide sequence data and it has shifted the research focus into genome annotation. The challenging tasks involved in annotation rely on the currently available tools and techniques to decode the information contained in nucleotide sequences. This information will improve our understanding of general aspects of life and evolution and improve our ability to diagnose genetic disorders. Here, we present a summary of both structural and functional annotations, as well as the associated comparative annotation tools and pipelines. We highlight visualization tools that immensely aid the annotation process and the contributions of the scientific community to the annotation. Further, we discuss quality-control practices and the need for re-annotation, and highlight the future of annotation.
Keywords: ab initio annotation; functional annotation; homology-based annotation; structural annotation.