Bio::ToolBox - get_features
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get_features.pl
A program to collect and filter annotated features from source files.
SYNOPSIS
get_features.pl –in <filename> –out <filename>
get_features.pl –db <name> –out <filename>
Source data:
-d --db <name | filename> database: name, file.db, or file.sqlite
-i --in <filename> input annotation: GFF3, GTF, genePred, etc
Selection:
-f --feature <type> feature: gene, mRNA, transcript, etc
-u --sub include subfeatures (true if gff, gtf, refFlat)
Filter features:
-l --list <filename> file of feature IDs to keep
-K --chrskip <regex> skip features from certain chromosomes
-x --exclude <tag=value> exclude features with specific attribute value
-n --include <tag=value> include features with specific attribute value
--biotype <regex> include only specific transcript biotype
--tsl [best|best1|best2| specify minimum transcript support level
best3|best4|best5| primarily Ensembl annotation
1|2|3|4|5|NA]
--gencode include only GENCODE tagged genes
Adjustments:
-b --start=<integer> modify start positions
-e --stop=<integer> modify stop positions
-p --pos [5|m|3|53|p] relative position from which to modify
--collapse collapse subfeatures from alt transcripts
Report format options:
-B --bed write BED6 (no --sub) or BED12 (--sub) format
-G --gff write GFF3 format
-g --gtf write GTF format
-r --refflat write UCSC refFlat format
-t --tag <text> include specific GFF attributes in text output
--coord include coordinates in text output
General options:
-o --out <filename> output file name
--sort sort output by genomic coordinates
-z --gz compress output
-Z --bgz bgzip compress output
-v --version print version and exit
-h --help show full documentation
OPTIONS
The command line flags and descriptions:
Source data
-
–db <text>
Specify the name of a Bio::DB::SeqFeature::Store annotation database from which gene or feature annotation may be derived. A SQLite file or a named relational database may be provided. Used as an alternate to an input file.
-
–in <filename>
Specify the filename of a gene annotation file, including GTF, GFF3, or a UCSC-formatted file including, refFlat, genePred, or knownGene. The file may be gzip compressed. Used as an alternate to a database.
Selection
-
–feature <type>
Provide a feature type to collect. Typically, this corresponds to the GFF type, or 3rd column in a GFF3 or GTF file. Examples include
gene
,mRNA
, ortranscript
. The default value for input files is ‘gene
’. For databases, an interactive list will be presented from which one or more may be chosen. -
–sub
Optionally include all child subfeatures in the output. For example, transcript, CDS, and/or exon subfeatures of a gene. This option is automatically enabled with GFF, GTF, or refFlat output; it may be turned off with
--nosub
. With BED output, it will force a BED12 file to be written. It has no effect with standard text.
Filter features
-
–list <file>
Provide a file containing a list of the feature IDs to keep from the input annotation file. The file must have an
ID
orPrimary_ID
column, otherwise an index will be requested interactively from the user. Only those top features whoseID
,gene_id
,transcript_id
, or otherwise SeqFeatureprimary_id
exactly matches one from the list will be retained;names
are not checked. Useful if you need to filter based on external criteria. -
–chrskip <regex>
Exclude features from the output whose sequence ID or chromosome matches the provided regex-compatible string. Expressions should be quoted or properly escaped on the command line. Examples might be
'chrM' 'scaffold.+' 'chr.+alt|chrUn.+|chr.+_random'
-
–exclude <tag=value>
Provide a GFF/GTF attribute tag on which to filter out the features matching the indicated value. For example, to filter out protein coding genes using
gene_biotype
, specify “gene_biotype=protein_coding”. The value is checked by regular expression and can be specified as such. This filter does not descend into subfeatures. More than one exclusion tag may be specified with multiple options or a comma-delimited list. -
–include <tag=value>
Provide a GFF/GTF attribute tag on which to filter for the features matching the indicated value. For example, to filter for protein coding genes using
gene_biotype
, specify “gene_biotype=protein_coding”. The value is checked by regular expression and can be specified as such. This filter does not descend into subfeatures. More than one inclusion tag may be specified with multiple options or a comma-delimited list. -
–biotype <regex<gt>
Filter transcripts using the
transcript_biotype
orbiotype
GTF/GFF3 attribute, typically found in Ensembl annotation files. Provide a regex compatible string which must match the biotype value to keep the transcripts. For example, to keep specify “miRNA” to keep all micro-RNA transcripts. This works on a subfeature level as well, so thatgene
may be specified as the feature to collect, and only the gene transcripts belonging to the indicating biotype are retained. -
–tsl <level>
Filter transcripts on the Ensembl GTF/GFF3 attribute
transcript_support_level
, which is described at Ensembl TSL glossary entry. Provide a level of support to filter. Values include:1 All splice junctions supported by evidence 2 Transcript flagged as suspect or only support from multiple ESTs 3 Only support from single EST 4 Best supporting EST is suspect 5 No support best Transcripts at the best (lowest) available level are taken best1 The word followed by a digit 1-5, indicating any transcript at or better (lower) than the indicated level NA Only transcripts without a level (NA) are retained.
-
–gencode
Boolean option to filter transcripts as part of the GENCODE specification. These are marked in Ensembl GTF/GFF3 annotation files as the
tag
attribute with value “basic”. Typically, at least one transcript for every gene is marked as part of the GENCODE set. Transcripts not marked as such usually lack sufficient experimental evidence.
Adjustments
- –start=<integer>
-
–stop=<integer>
Optionally specify adjustment values to adjust the reported start and end coordinates of the collected regions. A negative value is shifted upstream (towards the 5 prime end), and a positive value is shifted downstream (towards the 3 prime end). Adjustments are made relative to the indicated position (–pos option, below) based on the feature strand. Adjustments are only allowed when writing standard BED6 or standard text files.
-
–pos [ 5 m 3 53 p ] Indicate the relative position from which both coordinate adjustments are made. Both start and stop adjustments may be made from the respective 5 prime, 3 prime, or middle position as dictated by the feature’s strand value. Alternatively, specify ‘53’ to indicate that the start adjustment adjusts the 5 prime end and the stop adjustment adjusts the 3 prime end. If the input file is
narrowPeak
format, adjustments can be made relative to the summit or peak position by specifying ‘p’ (non-peak files report midpoint). The default is ‘53’. -
–collapse
Boolean option to collapse multiple alternate transcripts of a gene into a single artificial transcript, merging overlapping exons and minimizing introns, where appropriate. Genes without alternate transcripts are not collapsed.
Report format options
-
–bed
With subfeatures enabled, write a BED12 (12-column BED) file. Otherwise, write a standard 6-column BED format file.
-
–gff
Write a GFF version 3 (GFF3) format output file. Subfeatures are automatically included and coordinate adjustments ignored.
-
–gtf
Write a GTF format (GFF version 2.2 or 2.5) output file. Subfeatures are automatically included and coordinate adjustments ignored.
- –refflat
-
–ucsc
Write a UCSC-style refFlat format (10 columns) gene annotation table. Subfeatures are automatically included and coordinate adjustments ignored.
-
–tag <text>
When writing a standard text file, optionally include additional GFF/GTF attribute tags. Specify as a comma-delimited list or as separate options.
-
–coord
When writing a standard text file, optionally include the chromosome, start, stop, and strand coordinates. These are automatically included in other formats. This is automatically included when adjusting coordinate positions.
General options
-
–out <filename>
Specify the output file name. Default is the joined list of features.
-
–sort
Sort the output file by genomic coordinates. Automatically enabled when compressing with bgzip. This may require more memory.
-
–gz
Specify whether the output file should be compressed with gzip.
-
–bgz
Specify whether the output file should be compressed with block gzip (bgzip) for tabix compatibility.
-
–version
Print the version number.
-
–help
Display this POD documentation.
DESCRIPTION
This program will extract a list of features from a database or input
annotation file and write them out to a file. Features may be selected
using their feature type (the 3rd column in a GFF or GTF file). When
selecting features from a database, types may be selected interactively
from a presented list. Features may be filtered based on various
GFF attributes typically found in Ensembl annotation, including
transcript_biotype
, transcript_support_level
, and GENCODE basic
tags. Features may also be filtered by chromosome.
Collected features may be written to a variety of formats, including GFF3, GTF, refFlat, simple 6-column BED, or a simple text format. With GFF, GTF, and refFlat formats, subfeatures such as exons are automatically included (which may also be turned off). With a simple text format, the source database or parsed input file are recorded in the header metadata for use in subsequent programs. Coordinates may be optionally included in the text file, which preempts using parsed features in other tools.
Coordinate adjustments
Coordinates of the features may be adjusted as desired when writing to text or BED file formats. Adjustments may be made relative to either the 5 prime, 3 prime, both ends, or the feature midpoint. Positions are based on the feature strand. Use the following examples as a guide.
-
upstream 500 bp only
get_features.pl --start=-500 --stop=-1 --pos 5
-
1 kb total around 5 prime end
get_features.pl --start=-500 --stop=500 --pos 5
-
last 500 bp of feature
get_features.pl --start=-500 --pos 3
-
middle 500 bp of feature
get_features.pl --start=-250 --stop=250 --pos m
-
entire feature plus 1 kb of flanking
get_features.pl --start=-1000 --stop=1000 --pos 53
Note that positions are always in base coordinates, and the resulting regions may be 1 bp longer depending on whether the reference base was included or not.
AUTHOR
Timothy J. Parnell, PhD
Dept of Oncological Sciences
Huntsman Cancer Institute
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT, 84112
This package is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License 2.0.