Darren Patrick Martin

Darren Patrick Martin | JRNLClub

Research Statement

AI generated · 2d ago

Darren Patrick Martin's indexed work centers on computational methods for detecting and analyzing recombination in viral genomes. His most-cited contributions include the RDP family of recombination-detection programs, spanning RDP through RDP5, which together provide widely used tools for identifying recombinant sequences and breakpoints in aligned datasets. Related work extends this toolkit to automated bootscan-based identification of recombinants and to pairwise-alignment virus classification, the latter as senior author. A recurring theme is comparative recombination analysis across virus groups, including conserved recombination patterns among single-stranded DNA viruses and among aphthoviruses. Beyond these lead-author tools, Martin contributed as a middle author to consortium studies describing the detection of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in South Africa and the rapid epidemic expansion of the Omicron variant in southern Africa, alongside Nuno Rodrigues Faria and David L. Robertson. He also contributed to taxonomic work such as the ICTV Geminiviridae profile. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond these publications. Taken together, the record traces a line from recombination-detection software toward large-scale genomic surveillance of emerging viral variants.

Most Cited Works

RDP5: a computer program for analyzing recombination in, and removing signals of recombination from, nucleotide sequence datasets

Darren P Martin, Arvind Varsani, Philippe Roumagnac, Gerrit Botha, Suresh Maslamoney, Tiana Schwab, Zena Kelz, Venkatesh Kumar, Ben Murrell

Virus Evolution2020

704Citations

Exploring the Natural Origins of SARS-CoV-2 in the Light of Recombination

Spyros Lytras, Joseph Hughes, Darren Martin, Phillip Swanepoel, Arné de Klerk, Rentia Lourens, Sergei L Kosakovsky Pond

Research Areas

Plant Virus Research StudiesPlant and Fungal Interactions ResearchEvolution and Genetic DynamicsBacteriophages and microbial interactionGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Affiliations & Education

Employment

2010–present· now
University of Cape Town(ZA)
Lecturer · Bioinformatics

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Darren Patrick Martin

Sources