Technical Specification

Introduction¶

seqspec is an open-source file format specification and command-line tool for annotating sequencing libraries that utilized YAML for data representation. This document outlines the specification and explains various use-cases.

Schema Overview¶

The seqspec schema is designed to annotate sequencing libraries through three main objects: Assay, Region, and Read objects. Assay objects contain Region objects, possibly nested, which can be orthogonally annotated with Read objects. The Assay object is the parent object contains a description of the structure of the molecules in a sequencing library (the library specification) as well as the structure of the reads obtained after sequencing the sequencing library (the sequence specification). Files, such as FASTQ/BAM/SRA, can be associated with individual reads as a way to map the content of the read to a file.

Each seqspec file is associated with a sequencing run and documents the designed library structure and the designed read structure. A simple (but incomplete example) looks like the following:

library_protocol: 10xv3 Chromium scRNAseq
library_kit: Truseq dual index
sequence_protocol: Illumina Novaseq 6000
sequence_kit: Illumina Novaseq 6000 v1.5 kit
modalities:
  - Modality1
  - Modality2
sequence_spec:
  - read_id: Read1
    modality: Modality1
    primer_id: Region2
    strand: pos
    min_len: 10
    max_len: 100
    files:
    - file_id: R1.fastq.gz
      ...
library_spec:
  - region_id: Modality1
    regions:
    - region_id: Region1
      ...
    - region_id: Region2
      ...
  - region_id: Modality2

In order to annotate relevant information for the library structure, sequence structure, and assay, multiple properties are specified for each Region, Read, and Assay. The specific schema can be found in seqspec/schema/seqspec.schema.json.

Assay Object¶

The Assay object contains overall metadata for the sequencing run.

Fields:

• seqspec_version: String specifying the version of the seqspec specification, adhering to semantic versioning.
• assay_id: Identifier for the assay.
• name: The name of the assay.
• doi: The doi of the paper that describes the assay.
• date: The seqspec creation date, in “DD Month YYYY” format.
• description: A short description of the assay.
• modalities: The modalities the assay targets. E.g. “dna”, “rna”, “tag”, “protein”, “atac”, “crispr”.
• lib_struct: The link to Teichmann’s libstructs page derived for this sequence.
• library_protocol: The protocol/machine/tool to generate the library insert. (can be a modality-specific list)
• library_kit: The kit used to make the library sequence_protocol compatible. (can be a modality-specific list)
• sequence_protocol: The protocol/machine/tool to generate sequences. (can be a modality-specific list)
• sequence_kit: The kit used with the protocol to sequence the library. (can be a modality-specific list)
• sequence_spec: The spec for the sequence structure, an array of Read objects.
• library_spec: The spec for the library structure, an array of Region objects.

Example:

!Assay
seqspec_version: 0.3.0
assay_id: SPLiT-seq/Illumina
name: SPLiT-seq
doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam8999
date: 15 March 2018
description: split-pool ligation-based transcriptome sequencing
modalities:
  - rna
lib_struct: https://teichlab.github.io/scg_lib_structs/methods_html/SPLiT-seq.html
library_protocol: SPLiT-seq
library_kit: Custom
sequence_protocol: Illumina NovaSeq 6000 (EFO:0008637)
sequence_kit:
  - !SeqKit
    kit_id: "NovaSeq 6000 S2 Reagent Kit v1.5 (100\u2009cycles)"
    name: illumina
    modality: rna
sequence_spec: ...
library_spec: ...

Region Object¶

The library_spec contains a list of, possibly nested, Region objects which detail individual segments within the sequencing library molecule, specifying types, sequences, and relationships between segments. The order of the Regions in the library_spec from top to bottom correspond to their linear ordering in the library molecule from the 5’ -> 3’ end.

modalities:
- rna
library_spec:
  - region_id: rna # <-- must be a "modality" region
    regions: # <-- a list containing the linear ordering of the "regions" for the "rna" library molecule
    - region_id: illumina_p5
      ...
    - region_id: read1_primer
      ...
    - region_id: cell_bc
      ...
    - region_id: umi
      ...

Each Region has the following properties which are useful to annotate the element of the library molecule:

• region_id is a free-form string and must be unique across all regions in the seqspec file.
  • if the assay contains multiple regions of the same region_type it may be useful to append an integer to the end of the region_id to differentiate those regions. For example, if the assay had four barcodes then each of the individual barcode regions could have the region_ids barcode-1, barcode-2, barcode-3, barcode-4.
• region_type can be one of the following:
  • atac: The modality for chromatin accesibility capture
  • barcode: A region corresponding to a synthetic barcode sequence often associated with samples or cells
  • cdna: Complementary DNA generated from an RNA product
  • crispr: The modality for barcode-based CRISPR assay
  • custom_primer: A synthesized segment of nucleic acid used to initiate DNA synthesis.
  • dna: Deoxyribonucleic acid, targets often generated for MPRA assays.
  • fastq: A region corresponding to a FASTQ file.
  • fastq_link: A region corresponding to a FASTQ file that is stored remotely (via url).
  • gdna: Genomic DNA, targets often obtained with ATACseq.
  • hic: The modality corresponding to high-throughput chromosome conformation capture, a technique for studying the three-dimensional structure of genomes.
  • illumina_p5: A sequencing primer specific to Illumina platforms, used to bind the library molecule to the flow cell.
  • illumina_p7: A sequencing primer specific to Illumina platforms, used to bind the library molecule to the flow cell.
  • index5: A barcode sequence used for multiplexing and sample identification in sequencing, associated with the P5 end.
  • index7: A barcode sequence used for multiplexing and sample identification in sequencing, associated with the P7 end.
  • linker: A short, synthetic DNA sequence used to connect two molecules or fragments.
  • ME1: Mosaic end 1, used in the Nextera Library kit for library preparation.
  • ME2: Mosaic end 2, used in the Nextera Library kit for library preparation.
  • methyl: The modality for methylation sequencing which assays the presence of a methyl group.
  • named: A custom named region for grouping other regions.
  • nextera_read1: A read sequence obtained from the first end in paired-end Nextera library sequencing.
  • nextera_read2: A read sequence obtained from the second end in paired-end Nextera library sequencing.
  • poly_A: A sequence of multiple adenine nucleotides.
  • poly_G: A sequence of multiple guanine nucleotides.
  • poly_T: A sequence of multiple thymine nucleotides.
  • poly_C: A sequence of multiple cytosine nucleotides.
  • protein: The modality corresponding to assaying cell-surface proteins.
  • rna: The modality corresponding to assaying RNA.
  • s5: A sequencing primer or adaptor typically used in the Nextera kit in conjunction with ME1.
  • s7: A sequencing primer or adaptor typically used in the Nextera kit in conjunction with ME2.
  • tag: A short sequence of DNA or RNA used to label or identify a sample, protein, or other grouping.
  • truseq_read1: The first read primer in a paired-end sequencing run using the Illumina TruSeq Library preparation kit.
  • truseq_read2: The second read primer in a paired-end sequencing run using the Illumina TruSeq Library preparation kit.
  • umi: Unique Molecular Identifier, a short nucleotide sequence used to tag individual molecules.
• sequence_type can be one of the following:
  • fixed: indicates that sequence string is known and fixed in length and nucleotide composition (if specified, then sequence must contain the fixed nucleotide sequence.)
  • joined: indicates that the sequence is created (joined) from nested regions (if specified, then the regions: property for that Region must contain Regions, aka must be non-null.)
  • onlist: indicates that the sequence is derived from an onlist (if specified, then onlist must be non-null and sequence must comprise all N’s)
  • random: indicates that the sequence is not known a-priori (if specified, then the sequence must comprise all Xs)
• sequence: a representation of the sequence, must match the pattern ^[ACGTRYMKSWHBVDNX]+$
  • if the sequence_type is fixed then the actual sequence string is provided
  • if the sequence_type is joined then field must be the concatenation of the nested regions
  • if the sequence_type is onlist then field must an N string of length of the shortest sequence on the onlist
  • if the sequence_type is random then the field must be an X string
• min_len: an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 2048. It represents the minimum possible length of the sequence
• max_len: an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 2048. It represents the maximum length of the sequence
• onlist: can be null or contain a File object (see File Object section below)
  • file_id: a freeform string that uniquely identifies the file.
  • filename: a freeform string that matches the name of the file being annotated
  • filesize: an integer that represents the size of the compressed file (in bytes)
  • filetype: a free form string that specifies the file type (usually the extension of the filename, e.g. R1.fastq.gz has filetype: fastq.)
  • url: a freeform string that specifies either the url location of the file, or the local path of the file (relative to this seqspec file)
  • urltype: can be one of [“local”, “ftp”, “http”, “https”] specifies the type of the url
  • md5: the md5sum of the uncompressed file in filename, must match the pattern ^[a-f0-9]{32}$
• regions can either be null or contain a list of regions as specified above.

Example:

!Region
region_id: barcode-1
region_type: barcode
sequence_type: onlist
sequence: NNNNNNNN
min_len: 8
max_len: 8
onlist: !Onlist
  file_id: barcode-1_onlist.txt
  filename: barcode-1_onlist.txt
  filetype: txt
  filesize: 120
  url: ./
  urltype: local
  md5: 5b62453df2771f5aa856f78797f16591
regions: null

For more information about the various fields, please see the JSON schema specification (seqspec/schema/seqspec.schema.json). For consistency across assays I suggest following a standard naming conventions for common regions. I’ve made a collection of “named” regions available; please see seqspec/docs/regions for a list of example regions.

Read Object¶

The sequence_spec contains a list of Read objects which describe the sequencing “reads” that are generated from sequencing the molecule described in the library_spec. A crucial concept is that Read objects contain a primer_id which maps to a single region_id in the library_spec. Importantly, Reads can contain Files which I describe in the subsequent section.

sequence_spec:
  - read_id: Read1
    modality: Modality1
    primer_id: Region2
    strand: pos
    min_len: 10
    max_len: 100
    files:
    - file_id: R1.fastq.gz
    ...

A Read object is annotated with the following attributes:

• read_id: A freeform string that functions as a unique identifier for the read.
• name: A freeform string that functinos as the name of the read.
• modality: A string that matches the modality of the assay generating the read.
• primer_id: A string that matches the region id of the primer used to generate the read (in the library_spec).
• min_len: An integr greater than or equal to zero that specifies the minimum length of the read.
• max_len: An integr greater than or equal to zero that specifies the maximum length of the read.
• strand: One of [“pos”, “neg”], denotes the strandedness of the read.
• files: A list of File objects that contain sequences that match the structure of the parent Read.

Example:

- !Read
  read_id: read_001
  name: Read 1 of Sample A
  modality: rna
  primer_id: primer_25
  min_len: 50
  max_len: 300
  strand: pos
  files:
  - !File
  - file_id: read_001.fastq.gz
    ...

File Object¶

File’s are annotated with the File object. Files can be any real file on a local computer or remotely stored. Some common examples include FASTQ, BAM, POD5, TXT, SRA files. File objects contain are annotated with the following attributes:

• file_id: a freeform string that uniquely identifies the file.
• filename: a freeform string that matches the name of the file being annotated
• filesize: an integer that represents the size of the compressed file (in bytes)
• filetype: a free form string that specifies the file type (usually the extension of the filename, e.g. R1.fastq.gz has filetype: fastq.)
• url: a freeform string that specifies either the url location of the file, or the local path of the file (relative to this seqspec file)
• urltype: can be one of [“local”, “ftp”, “http”, “https”] specifies the type of the url
• md5: the md5sum of the uncompressed file in filename, must match the pattern ^[a-f0-9]{32}$

File objects are used in the Onlist object within “onlist” Regions. They are also used in the Read objects as a list of File objects.

YAML Tags¶

seqspec files contains YAML tags (strings prepended with an exclamation point !) to describe the various objects (Assay, Region, Onlist, Read). These tags make it easy to load seqspec files into python as a python object. Python manipulation of seqspec files becomes straightforward with “dot notation”:

from seqspec.utils import load_spec

spec = load_spec("seqspec/assays/10x-RNA-v3/spec.yaml")

print(spec.get_libspec("RNA").sequence)
# AATGATACGGCGACCACCGAGATCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNXAGATCGGAAGAGCACACGTCTGAACTCCAGTCACNNNNNNNNATCTCGTATGCCGTCTTCTGCTTG