NAME
Bio::SeqIO - Handler for SeqIO Formats
SYNOPSIS
$in
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
"inputfilename"
,
-format
=>
'Fasta'
);
$out
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
">outputfilename"
,
-format
=>
'EMBL'
);
while
(
my
$seq
=
$in
->next_seq() ) {
$out
->write_seq(
$seq
);
}
# Now, to actually get at the sequence object, use the standard Bio::Seq
# methods (look at Bio::Seq if you don't know what they are)
$in
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
"inputfilename"
,
-format
=>
'genbank'
);
while
(
my
$seq
=
$in
->next_seq() ) {
"Sequence "
,
$seq
->id,
" first 10 bases "
,
$seq
->subseq(1,10),
"\n"
;
}
# The SeqIO system does have a filehandle binding. Most people find this
# a little confusing, but it does mean you can write the world's
# smallest reformatter
$in
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-file
=>
"inputfilename"
,
-format
=>
'Fasta'
);
$out
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-format
=>
'EMBL'
);
# World's shortest Fasta<->EMBL format converter:
$out
$_
while
<
$in
>;
DESCRIPTION
Bio::SeqIO is a handler module for the formats in the SeqIO set (eg, Bio::SeqIO::fasta). It is the officially sanctioned way of getting at the format objects, which most people should use.
The Bio::SeqIO system can be thought of like biological file handles. They are attached to filehandles with smart formatting rules (eg, genbank format, or EMBL format, or binary trace file format) and can either read or write sequence objects (Bio::Seq objects, or more correctly, Bio::SeqI implementing objects, of which Bio::Seq is one such object). If you want to know what to do with a Bio::Seq object, read Bio::Seq.
The idea is that you request a stream object for a particular format. All the stream objects have a notion of an internal file that is read from or written to. A particular SeqIO object instance is configured for either input or output. A specific example of a stream object is the Bio::SeqIO::fasta object.
Each stream object has functions
$stream
->next_seq();
and
$stream
->write_seq(
$seq
);
As an added bonus, you can recover a filehandle that is tied to the SeqIO object, allowing you to use the standard <> and print operations to read and write sequence objects:
use
Bio::SeqIO;
$stream
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-format
=>
'Fasta'
,
-fh
=> \
*ARGV
);
# read from standard input or the input filenames
while
(
$seq
= <
$stream
> ) {
# do something with $seq
}
and
$stream
$seq
;
# when stream is in output mode
This makes the simplest ever reformatter
#!/usr/bin/perl
use
strict;
my
$format1
=
shift
;
my
$format2
=
shift
||
die
"Usage: reformat format1 format2 < input > output"
;
use
Bio::SeqIO;
my
$in
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-format
=>
$format1
,
-fh
=> \
*ARGV
);
my
$out
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-format
=>
$format2
);
# Note: you might want to quote -format to keep older
# perl's from complaining.
$out
$_
while
<
$in
>;
CONSTRUCTORS
Bio::SeqIO->new()
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
'seqs.fasta'
,
-format
=>
$format
);
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-fh
=> \
*FILEHANDLE
,
-format
=>
$format
);
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-string
=>
$string
,
-format
=>
$format
);
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-format
=>
$format
);
The new() class method constructs a new Bio::SeqIO object. The returned object can be used to retrieve or print Seq objects. new() accepts the following parameters:
- -file
-
A file path to be opened for reading or writing. The usual Perl conventions apply:
'file'
# open file for reading
'>file'
# open file for writing
'>>file'
# open file for appending
'+<file'
# open file read/write
To read from or write to a piped command, open a filehandle and use the -fh option.
- -fh
-
You may use new() with a opened filehandle, provided as a glob reference. For example, to read from STDIN:
my
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-fh
=> \
*STDIN
);
A string filehandle is handy if you want to modify the output in the memory, before printing it out. The following program reads in EMBL formatted entries from a file and prints them out in fasta format with some HTML tags:
use
Bio::SeqIO;
use
IO::String;
my
$in
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
"emblfile"
,
-format
=>
'EMBL'
);
while
(
my
$seq
=
$in
->next_seq() ) {
# the output handle is reset for every file
my
$stringio
= IO::String->new(
$string
);
my
$out
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-fh
=>
$stringio
,
-format
=>
'fasta'
);
# output goes into $string
$out
->write_seq(
$seq
);
# modify $string
$string
=~ s|(>)(\w+)|$1<font color=
"Red"
>$2</font>|g;
# print into STDOUT
print
$string
;
}
Filehandles can also be used to read from or write to a piped command:
use
Bio::SeqIO;
#convert .fastq.gz to .fasta
open
my
$zcat
,
'zcat seq.fastq.gz |'
or
die
$!;
my
$in
=Bio::SeqIO->new(
-fh
=>
$zcat
,
-format
=>
'fastq'
);
my
$out
=Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
'>seq.fasta'
,
-format
=>
'fasta'
);
while
(
my
$seq
=
$in
->next_seq) {
$out
->write_seq(
$seq
)
}
- -string
-
A string to read the sequences from. For example:
my
$string
=
">seq1\nACGCTAGCTAGC\n"
;
my
$seqIO
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-string
=>
$string
);
- -format
-
Specify the format of the file. Supported formats include fasta, genbank, embl, swiss (SwissProt), Entrez Gene and tracefile formats such as abi (ABI) and scf. There are many more, for a complete listing see the SeqIO HOWTO (http://bioperl.org/howtos/SeqIO_HOWTO.html).
If no format is specified and a filename is given then the module will attempt to deduce the format from the filename suffix. If there is no suffix that Bioperl understands then it will attempt to guess the format based on file content. If this is unsuccessful then SeqIO will throw a fatal error.
The format name is case-insensitive: 'FASTA', 'Fasta' and 'fasta' are all valid.
- -alphabet
-
Sets the alphabet ('dna', 'rna', or 'protein'). When the alphabet is set then Bioperl will not attempt to guess what the alphabet is. This may be important because Bioperl does not always guess correctly.
- -flush
-
By default, all files (or filehandles) opened for writing sequences will be flushed after each write_seq() (making the file immediately usable). If you do not need this facility and would like to marginally improve the efficiency of writing multiple sequences to the same file (or filehandle), pass the -flush option '0' or any other value that evaluates as defined but false:
my
$gb
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
"<gball.gbk"
,
-format
=>
"gb"
);
my
$fa
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
">gball.fa"
,
-format
=>
"fasta"
,
-flush
=> 0);
# go as fast as we can!
while
(
$seq
=
$gb
->next_seq) {
$fa
->write_seq(
$seq
) }
- -seqfactory
-
Provide a Bio::Factory::SequenceFactoryI object. See the sequence_factory() method.
- -locfactory
-
Provide a Bio::Factory::LocationFactoryI object. See the location_factory() method.
- -objbuilder
-
Provide a Bio::Factory::ObjectBuilderI object. See the object_builder() method.
Bio::SeqIO->newFh()
$fh
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-fh
=> \
*FILEHANDLE
,
-format
=>
$format
);
$fh
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-format
=>
$format
);
# etc.
This constructor behaves like new(), but returns a tied filehandle rather than a Bio::SeqIO object. You can read sequences from this object using the familiar <> operator, and write to it using print(). The usual array and $_ semantics work. For example, you can read all sequence objects into an array like this:
@sequences
= <
$fh
>;
Other operations, such as read(), sysread(), write(), close(), and printf() are not supported.
OBJECT METHODS
See below for more detailed summaries. The main methods are:
$sequence = $seqIO->next_seq()
Fetch the next sequence from the stream, or nothing if no more.
$seqIO->write_seq($sequence [,$another_sequence,...])
Write the specified sequence(s) to the stream.
TIEHANDLE(), READLINE(), PRINT()
These provide the tie interface. See perltie for more details.
FEEDBACK
Mailing Lists
User feedback is an integral part of the evolution of this and other Bioperl modules. Send your comments and suggestions preferably to one of the Bioperl mailing lists.
Your participation is much appreciated.
bioperl-l
@bioperl
.org - General discussion
http://bioperl.org/wiki/Mailing_lists - About the mailing lists
Support
Please direct usage questions or support issues to the mailing list:
bioperl-l
@bioperl
.org
rather than to the module maintainer directly. Many experienced and responsive experts will be able look at the problem and quickly address it. Please include a thorough description of the problem with code and data examples if at all possible.
Reporting Bugs
Report bugs to the Bioperl bug tracking system to help us keep track the bugs and their resolution. Bug reports can be submitted via the web:
AUTHOR - Ewan Birney, Lincoln Stein
Email birney@ebi.ac.uk lstein@cshl.org
APPENDIX
The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods. Internal methods are usually preceded with a _
new
Title : new
Usage :
$stream
= Bio::SeqIO->new(
-file
=>
'sequences.fasta'
,
-format
=>
'fasta'
);
Function: Returns a new sequence stream
Returns : A Bio::SeqIO stream initialised
with
the appropriate
format
Args : Named parameters indicating where to
read
the sequences from or to
write
them to:
-file
=> filename, OR
-fh
=> filehandle to attach to, OR
-string
=> string
Additional arguments, all
with
reasonable defaults:
-format
=>
format
of the sequences, usually auto-detected
-alphabet
=>
'dna'
,
'rna'
, or
'protein'
-flush
=> 0 or 1 (
default
: flush filehandles
after
each
write
)
-seqfactory
=> sequence factory
-locfactory
=> location factory
-objbuilder
=> object builder
newFh
Title : newFh
Usage :
$fh
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-file
=>
$filename
,
-format
=>
'Format'
)
Function: Does a new() followed by an fh()
Example :
$fh
= Bio::SeqIO->newFh(
-file
=>
$filename
,
-format
=>
'Format'
)
$sequence
= <
$fh
>;
# read a sequence object
$fh
$sequence
;
# write a sequence object
Returns : filehandle
tied
to the Bio::SeqIO::Fh class
Args :
See Bio::SeqIO::Fh
fh
Title : fh
Usage :
$obj
->fh
Function: Get or set the IO filehandle
Example :
$fh
=
$obj
->fh;
# make a tied filehandle
$sequence
= <
$fh
>;
# read a sequence object
$fh
$sequence
;
# write a sequence object
Returns : filehandle
tied
to Bio::SeqIO class
Args : none
next_seq
Title : next_seq
Usage :
$seq
= stream->next_seq
Function: Reads the
next
sequence object from the stream and returns it.
Certain driver modules may encounter entries in the stream
understood by the driver. If such an incident is
recoverable, e.g., by dismissing a feature of a feature
table or some other non-mandatory part of an entry, the
driver will issue a warning. In the case of a
non-recoverable situation an exception will be thrown. Do
not assume that you can resume parsing the same stream
after
catching the exception. Note that you can always turn
recoverable errors into exceptions by calling
$stream
->verbose(2).
Returns : a Bio::Seq sequence object, or nothing
if
no
more sequences
are available
Args : none
See Bio::Root::RootI, Bio::Factory::SeqStreamI, Bio::Seq
write_seq
Title : write_seq
Usage :
$stream
->write_seq(
$seq
)
Function: writes the
$seq
object into the stream
Returns : 1
for
success and 0
for
error
Args : Bio::Seq object
format
Title :
format
Usage :
$format
=
$stream
->
format
()
Function: Get the sequence
format
Returns : sequence
format
, e.g. fasta, fastq
Args : none
alphabet
Title : alphabet
Usage :
$self
->alphabet(
$newval
)
Function: Set/get the molecule type
for
the Seq objects to be created.
Example :
$seqio
->alphabet(
'protein'
)
Returns : value of alphabet:
'dna'
,
'rna'
, or
'protein'
Args : newvalue (optional)
Throws : Exception
if
the argument is not one of
'dna'
,
'rna'
, or
'protein'
_load_format_module
Title : _load_format_module
Usage :
*INTERNAL
SeqIO stuff*
Function: Loads up (like
use
) a module at run
time
on demand
Example :
Returns :
Args :
_concatenate_lines
Title : _concatenate_lines
Usage :
$s
= _concatenate_lines(
$line
,
$continuation_line
)
Function: Private. Concatenates two strings assuming that the second stems
from a continuation line of the first. Adds a space between both
unless
the first ends
with
a dash.
Takes care of either arg being empty.
Example :
Returns : A string.
Args :
_filehandle
Title : _filehandle
Usage :
$obj
->_filehandle(
$newval
)
Function: This method is deprecated. Call _fh() instead.
Example :
Returns : value of _filehandle
Args : newvalue (optional)
_guess_format
Title : _guess_format
Usage :
$obj
->_guess_format(
$filename
)
Function: guess
format
based on file suffix
Example :
Returns : guessed
format
of filename (lower case)
Args :
Notes : formats that _filehandle() will guess include fasta,
genbank, scf, pir, embl, raw, gcg, ace, bsml, swissprot,
fastq and phd/phred
sequence_factory
Title : sequence_factory
Usage :
$seqio
->sequence_factory(
$seqfactory
)
Function: Get/Set the Bio::Factory::SequenceFactoryI
Returns : Bio::Factory::SequenceFactoryI
Args : [optional] Bio::Factory::SequenceFactoryI
object_factory
Title : object_factory
Usage :
$obj
->object_factory(
$newval
)
Function: This is an alias to sequence_factory
with
a more generic name.
Example :
Returns : value of object_factory (a
scalar
)
Args : on set, new value (a
scalar
or
undef
, optional)
sequence_builder
Title : sequence_builder
Usage :
$seqio
->sequence_builder(
$seqfactory
)
Function: Get/Set the Bio::Factory::ObjectBuilderI used to build sequence
objects. This applies to rich sequence formats only, e.g. genbank
but not fasta.
If you
do
not set the sequence object builder yourself, it
will in fact be an instance of L<Bio::Seq::SeqBuilder>, and
Returns : a Bio::Factory::ObjectBuilderI compliant object
Args : [optional] a Bio::Factory::ObjectBuilderI compliant object
location_factory
Title : location_factory
Usage :
$seqio
->location_factory(
$locfactory
)
Function: Get/Set the Bio::Factory::LocationFactoryI object to be used
for
location string parsing
Returns : a Bio::Factory::LocationFactoryI implementing object
Args : [optional] on set, a Bio::Factory::LocationFactoryI implementing
object.