Abstract
Genomic locations are represented as coordinates on a specific genome build version, but the build information is frequently missing when coordinates are provided. It is essential to correctly interpret and analyse the genomic intervals contained in genomic track files. Here, we demonstrate that this crucial metadatum (or rather datum) is often isolated from the genomic track files in public repositories and journal articles, which could be a major time thief. We propose best practices to ensure that genome build version is always carried along with genomic track files. Although not a substitute to the best practices, we also provide a tool to predict the genome build version of genomic track files.
Copyright
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.