© 2022 Janghyun Choi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Exploring Deep-sequencing Data with deepTools

The deepTools effectively manages the vast data volumes routinely produced from sequencing platforms. This tool suite includes versatile modules designed to process mapped reads, performing numerous quality assessments. It also generates normalized coverage files in standard bedGraph and bigWig formats, facilitating comparisons between various datasets, such as treatment and control groups. This protocol was created based on deepTools version 3.5.1 running on a system equipped with an Intel 10th generation i9-10910 processor and 48GB of memory. The test environment includes Python version 3.8.5, SciPy version 1.6.2, NumPy version 1.20.1, and conda version 22.9.0 under macOS 12.4 environment.

Installation deepTools

To install deepTools using Anaconda, use the following commands:

$ conda install -c conda-forge -c bioconda deeptools

Troubleshooting in Linux Environment

If error occurs for freeze environment, update conda as follow;
```
$ sudo apt-get update
$ conda update xz
```

If error occurs for repository, remove it as follow;

$ sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:[Dir]/[Sub-Dir]

# For example
$ sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:webupd8team/sublime-text-3

If deeptools cannot be run due to libcryto.so.1.0.0 source error, refer to document of 'phyton setting'

BamCoverage: Convert BAM into bigWig

BamCoverage module takes an alignment of reads or fragments as input (BAM file) and generates a coverage track (bigWig or bedGraph) as output. This module requires a BAM file sorted by position and a bai file in the same folder. Use the following command to convert BAM to BigWig with BamCoverage:

$ bamCoverage -b <input.bam> -o <output.bigwig> -of <outputType> -bs <int> \
    --normalizeUsing <Norm> --effectiveGenomeSize <int> --smoothLength <int> \
    --region <region> -p <int> -e

In these commands,

Parameter	Description
`-b <input.bam>`	Specifies the input data.
`-o <output.bigwig>`	Specifies output file.
`-of <outputType>`	Specifies format of the output data. Possible values are bigWig or bdg.
`-bs <int>`	Size of the bins, in bases, for the output of the bigwig/bedgraph file (Default: 50). `-bs 1` setting is recommended for publication. The smaller the value of `-bs`, the more computation.
`--normalizeUsing <Norm>`	Specifies whether to apply a method to normalize the number of reads per bin. Possible values for `<Norm>` are `RPCG`, `RPKM`, `CPM`, or `none` (default: `none`).
`--effectiveGenomeSize <int>`	The effective genome size (EGS) is the portion of the genome that is mappable. this parameter is couple with `RPGC` normalization. human: 2.7e9 (2700000000), mouse: 1.87e9 (1870000000).
`--smoothLength <int>`	The smooth length defines a window, larger than the binSize, to average the number of reads. For example, if the –binSize is set to 20 and the –smoothLength is set to 60, then, for each bin, the average of the bin and its left and right neighbors is considered. For Publication, `-bs 1, --smoothLength 10`settting is recommended. The larger the value of `---smoothLength`, the more computation.
`--region <region>`	Region of the genome to limit the operation to - this is useful when testing parameters to reduce the computing time. The format is chr:start:end, for example `--region chr2:178104147:178154424`.
`-p <int>`	Specifies thread numbers `<int>`
`-e` option	This parameter allows the extension of reads to fragment size. If set, each read is extended, without exception. Can not apply to RNA-seq data.

Example code

Here is an example command to perform converting a bigWig file from the BAM file:

# Coded to quickly identify track patterns.
$ bamcoverage -b Final.sort.Unt_IPT.bam -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_IPT.bigwig \
    -bs 100 --normalizeUsing RPGC --effectiveGenomeSize 2700000000 -e -p 10

# For GEO submission, it takes a very long time.
$ bamcoverage -b Final.sort.Unt_IPT.bam -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_IPT.bigwig -bs 1 \
    --normalizeUsing RPGC --effectiveGenomeSize 2700000000 --smoothLength 10 -e -p 10
$ bamcoverage -b Final.sort.Unt_IPT.bam -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_IPT.bigwig -bs 5 \
    --normalizeUsing RPGC --effectiveGenomeSize 2700000000 --smoothLength 20 -e -p 10

# This code makes the bigWig file by specifying a target gene region as wide, which can be a time saver.
$ bamcoverage -b Final.sort.Unt_MLL1.bam -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_MLL1_NRF2.bigwig -bs 1 \
    --normalizeUsing RPGC --effectiveGenomeSize 2700000000 --region chr2:178104147:178154424 \ 
    --smoothLength 20 -e

Output

When BamCoverage running, it prints messages printing as the follow:

        bamFilesList: ['Final.sort.Unt_MLL1.bam']
                binLength: 1
                numberOfSamples: None
                blackListFileName: None
                skipZeroOverZero: False
                bed_and_bin: False
                genomeChunkSize: None
                defaultFragmentLength: 254
                numberOfProcessors: 2
                verbose: False
                region: None
                bedFile: None
                minMappingQuality: None
                ignoreDuplicates: False
                chrsToSkip: []
                stepSize: 1
                center_read: False
                samFlag_include: None
                samFlag_exclude: None
                minFragmentLength: 0
                maxFragmentLength: 0
                zerosToNans: False
                smoothLength: None
                save_data: False
                out_file_for_raw_data: None
                maxPairedFragmentLength: 1016

bigwigCompare and bamCompare

bigwigCompare compares two bigWig files based on the number of mapped reads. To compare the bigWig files, the genome is partitioned into bins of equal size, then the number of reads found in each BAM file are counted per bin and finally a summary value is reported. Similarly, bamCompare can be used to generate a bigWig or bedGraph file based on two BAM files that are compared to each other while being simultaneously normalized for sequencing depth. Use the following command to compare two bigWigs or two BAMs:

# bigwigCompare
$ bigwigCompare -b1 <target.bigwig> -b2 <control.bigwig> --operation <ratio> \
    -o <output.bigwig> -p <INT>

# bamCompare
$ bamCompare -b1 <target.bam> -b2 <control.bam> --operation <ratio> \
    -o <output.bigwig> -p <INT>

In these commands,

Parameter	Description
`-b1 <target.bigwig>`	Specifies the bigwig or the sorted BAM file for the target/treatment.
`-b2 <control.bigwig>`	Specifies the bigwig or the sorted BAM file for the control.
`---operation <ratio>`	Specifies how to determine two values are compared. Possible values for `<ratio>` are `log2`, `ratio`, `substrate`, `add`, or `mean` (default: `log2`).
`-o <output.bigwig>`	Specifies output file.
`-p <int>`	Specifies thread numbers `<int>`

Example code (Results are not printed)

Here is an example command to perform bigwigCompare and bamCompare:

# bigwigCompare
$ bigwigCompare -b1 /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_H3K4me3.bigwig \
    -b2 /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_IPT.bigwig --operation log2 \
    -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Matrix/Unt_IPT_H3K4me3.bigwig -p 10
$ bigwigCompare -b1 /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_H3K27me3.bigwig \
    -b2 /Users/jchoi/desktop/Unt_IPT.bigwig --operation log2 \
    -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/Matrix/Unt_IPT_H3K27me3.bigwig -p 10

# bamCompare
$ bamCompare -b1 /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Sorted.Unt_NFIB.bam \
    -b2 /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Sorted.Unt_IPT.bam --operation log2 \
    -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Matrix/Unt_IPT_NFIB.bigwig -p 10
$ bamCompare -b1 /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Sorted.Unt_MLL1.bam \
    -b2 /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Sorted.Unt_IPT.bam --operation log2 \
    -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/BAM/Matrix/Unt_IPT_MLL1.bigwig -p 10

computeMatrix: Prepare matrix data

computeMatrix calculates scores per genome regions and prepares an intermediate file that can be used with plotHeatmap and plotProfiles. computeMatrix accepts multiple score files (bigWig format) and multiple regions files (BED format). This tool can also be used to filter and sort regions according to their score. Use the following command to make a matrix data using bigWig files generated from bigwigCompare:

$ computeMatrix <mode> --referencePoint <point> -b <int> -a <int> -R <referenceGenome> \
    -S <bigwigCompared_1.bigwig>...<bigwigCompared_N.bigwig> \
    --skipZeros --missingDataAsZero -o <matrix file.gz> -p <int>

In these commands,

Parameter	Description
`<mode>`	Possible values are `reference-point` or `scale-regions`. The `reference-point` mode plots genomic positions upstream and downstream from a specified position within a genome region, such as the starting point. Conversely, the `scale-regions` mode adjusts all regions in the genome file to a user-defined length, stretching or shrinking them as necessary.
`--referencePoint <point>`	Specifies a reference point. The reference point for the plotting could be either the region start (`TSS`), the region end (`TES`) or the `center` of the region.
`-b <int>`	Distance upstream of the reference-point selected.
`-a <int>`	Distance downstream of the reference-point selected.
`-R <referenceGenome>`	File name or names, in BED or GTF format, containing the regions to plot. It is recommend to use the GTF file obtained in the htseeq-count step.
`-S <bigwigCompared_1.bigwig>...<bigwigCompared_N.bigwig>`	specifies input data, it is separated by spaces. These files should be obtained by using the `bamCoverage` or `bamCompare` modules.
`--skipZeros` option	Whether regions with only scores of zero should be included or not.
`--missingDataAsZero` option	If set, missing data (NAs) will be treated as zeros.
`-o <matrix file.gz>`	Specifies output file. The matrix file must have a 'gz' extension.
`-p <int>`	Specifies thread numbers `<int>`

Example code

Here is an example command to prepare a matrix data with computeMatrix:

# Mouse, reference-point mode, TSS, TF ChIP-seq
$ computeMatrix reference-point --referencePoint TSS -b 3000 -a 3000 \
    -R /Users/jchoi/desktop/RefGene/mm10.refGene.gtf
    -S IPT_shCtrl_rep1.bigwig IPT_shCtrl_rep2.bigwig IPT_shNFIB_rep1.bigwig IPT_shNFIB_rep2.bigwig \
    --skipZeros --missingDataAsZero -o /Users/jchoi/desktop/bigWig/Matrix/matrix_TSS.gz -p 10

# Rice, reference-point mode, TES, histone ChIP-seq
$ computeMatrix reference-point --referencePoint TES -b 3000 -a 3000 \
    -R /Users/jchoi/Desktop/ProfYoon/O_Sativa_Genome/RGAP_Used/all.gtf \
    -S /Users/jchoi/Desktop/ProfYoon/ChIPSeq_Track/LowBin_WTe.bigwig /Users/jchoi/Desktop/ProfYoon/ChIPSeq_Track/LowBin_ehd1e.bigwig \
    --skipZeros --missingDataAsZero -o /Users/jchoi/Desktop/matrix_TES.gz -p 10

Output

This code does not output any results or progress, but sometimes you will see a message like the one below:

Skipping XX_XXXXXX_XX, due to being absent in the computeMatrix output.
Skipping NR_164356_11, due to being absent in the computeMatrix output.

Ignore these mentions because they mean missing data and has been processed by --skipZeros and --missingDataAsZero commands.

plotHeatmap

plotHeatmap creates a heatmap for scores associated with genomic regions. The program requires a matrix file generated by the computeMatrix. Use the following command to make a heatmap:

$ plotHeatmap -m <matrixFile.gz> -out <output.extention> --colorMap <colorCode> --colorList <"colorCode"> \
    --whatToShow <'type'> --zMin <group1 ... groupN> --zMax <group1 ... groupN> \
    --yMin <group1 ... groupN> --yMax <group1 ... groupN> \
    --kmeans <int> --perGroup --dpi <int>

In these commands,

Parameter	Description
`-m <matrixFile.gz>`	Specifies matrix file.
`-out <output.extention>`	Specifies output file. Possible values for file extention are `png`, `eps`, `pdf`, and `svg` (recommended).
`--colorMap <colorCode>`	Color map to use for the heatmap. If more than one heatmap is being plotted the color of each heatmap can be enter individually (e.g. --colorMap Reds Blues). Available values can be seen here: http://matplotlib.org/users/colormaps.html
`--colorList <colorCode>`	List of colors to use to create a colormap. For example, if –colorList black,yellow,blue is set (colors separated by comas) then a color map that starts with black, continues to yellow and finishes in blue is created. You can also use hexagonal color codes (#000000).
`--whatToShow <'type'>`	The default is to include a summary or profile plot on top of the heatmap and a heatmap colorbar. Other options are `'plot and heatmap'`, `'heatmap only'`, and `'heatmap and colorbar'`. Not recommended for use.
`--zMin/--zMax` option	adjust heatmap intensities. If more than one heatmap is being plotted the intensity of each heatmap can be enter individually.
`--yMin/--yMax` option	adjust plot range of the y-axis. If more than one heatmap is being plotted the intensity of each heatmap can be enter individually.
`--kmeans <int>`	Number of clusters to compute. When this option is set, the matrix is split into clusters using the k-means algorithm. `--hclust`option is also possible for Hierarchical clustering.
`--perGroup` option	The default is to plot all groups of regions by sample. Using this option instead plots all samples by group of regions.
`--dpi <int>`	Determine plot resolution. This function does not seem to be working since version 3.5.2.

Example Code (Results are not printed)

Here is an example command to plot heatmap with plotHeatmap:

$ plotHeatmap -m /Users/jchoi/desktop/bigWig/Matrix/matrix_TSS.gz \
    -out /Users/jchoi/desktop/Distribution.svg --colorMap RdBu
    --zMin -1 --zMax 6 --yMin 0 --yMax 4 --dpi 300

$ plotHeatmap -m /Users/jchoi/desktop/bigWig/Matrix/matrix_TSS.gz \
    -out /Users/jchoi/desktop/Distribution_heatmap.svg --colorMap RdBu
    --whatToShow 'heatmap only' --zMin -1 --zMax 6
    --kmeans 3 --dpi 300

$ plotHeatmap -m /Users/jchoi/Desktop/matrix_TSS.gz 
    -out /Users/jchoi/Desktop/Rice_H3ac.svg --colorList "white,#bd1829" 
    --yMin 20 --yMax 50 --zMin 40

plotProfile

plotProfile creates a profile plot for scores over sets of genomic regions. This is a simplified version of the plotHeatmap provided above that only plots individual line graphs. The parameters for this function are quite similar to others, so I will keep the explanation brief without example code. Unfortunately, plotProfile is currently not used by many users.

$ plotProfile -m <matrix file.gz> -out <output.extention> --plotType=<select>
    --color <'color code'> --numPlotsPerRow <int> --plotTitle <"Test data profile">
    --kmeans <int> --perGroup --dpi <int>

In these commands,

--plotType=<select>: Possible values are lines, fill, se, std, overlapped_lines, and heatmap.
--color <'color code'>: List of colors to use for the plotted lines (color names or hex strings). For example --colors '#e89b81' '#959dc8' '#f6f0a8'
--numPlotsPerRow <int>: Number of plots per row

Overall, the plotHeatmap and plotProfile functions, powered by computeMatrix, are commonly used to visualize the tag distribution of peaks and are featured prominently in numerous publications. However, for more detailed analysis, I recommend using Python-based ngs.plot.r or the ChIPseeker R package , which offer enhanced detail and additional analytical capabilities.

multiBigwigSummary and multiBamSummary

multiBigwigSummary and multiBamSummary compute the average score/read coverages for genomic regions for two or more bigWig and BAM files, respectively. This analysis is performed for the entire genome by running the program in bins mode, or for certain user selected regions in BED-file mode. Most commonly, the default output of multiBigwigSummary (a compressed numpy array, .npz) is used by other tools such as plotCorrelation or plotPCA for visualization and diagnostic purposes. Use the following command to make a summary matrix from bigWig files with multiBigwigSummary:

$ multiBigwigSummary bins -b <file1.bigwig>...<fileN.bigwig> -l <file1>...<fileN> -o <results.npz>
$ multiBamSummary bins -b <file1.bam>...<fileN.bam> -l <file1>...<fileN> -e -o <results.npz>

In these commands,

-b <file1.bigwig>...<fileN.bigwig>: Specifies input data, it is separated by spaces.
-l <file1>...<fileN>: User defined labels instead of default labels from file names. Multiple labels have to be separated by a space.
-o <results.npz>: Specifies output data as npz format.
-eoption: only multiBamSummary, allows the extension of reads to fragment size.

Example Code (Results are not printed)

Here is an example command to make a coverage matrix with multiBigwigSummary:

$ multiBigwigSummary bins -b shControl_Input.bigwig shControl_H3K4me3.bigwig shNFIB_H3K4me3.bigwig shMLL1_H3K4me3.bigwig \
    -l Input shControl shNFIB shMLL1 -o /Users/jchoi/Desktop/CorrMatrix.npz

plotCorrelation

plotCorrelationanalyzes and visualizes sample correlations based on the output of multiBamSummary or multiBigwigSummary. Pearson or Spearman methods are available to compute correlation coefficients. Use the following command to perform plotting for correlation with plotCorrelation:

$ plotCorrelation -in <CorrMatrix.npz> --corMethod <select> --skipZeros --whatToPlot <type> \
    --removeOutliers --colorMap <color> --plotNumbers -o <output.extention> --outFileCorMatrix <matrix_name.tab>

In these commands,

Parameter	Description
`-in <CorrMatrix.npz>`	Specifies a coverage matrix file.
`---corMethod <select>`	Specifies a correlation method. Possible values for `<select>` are `spearman` and `pearson`.
`--skipZeros` option	By setting this option, genomic regions that have zero or missing (NaN) values in all samples are excluded.
`--whatToPlot <type>`	Choose between a heatmap or pairwise scatter plots. Possible values for `<type>` are `heatmap` and `scatterplot`.
`--removeOutliers` option	If set, bins with very large counts are removed (only `pearson`).
`--colorMap <color>`	Color map to use for the heatmap.
`--zMin/--zMax` option	adjust heatmap intensities. If not specified, the value is set automatically.
`--xRange/--yRange` option	adjust plot range of the x/y-axis. If not specified, the value is set automatically.
`--plotNumbers` option	If set, then the correlation number is plotted on top of the heatmap (only `heatmap`).
`-o <output.extention>`	Specifies output file. Possible values for file extention are `png`, `eps`, `pdf`, and `svg` (recommended).
`--outFileCorMatrix <matrix_name.tab>`	Save matrix with pairwise correlation values to a tab-separated file.

Example Code (Results are not printed)

Here is an example command to make a correlation plot with plotCorrelation:

# Heatmap, Pearson r
$ plotCorrelation -in /Users/jchoi/Desktop/CorrMatrix.npz --corMethod pearson --skipZeros \
    --whatToPlot heatmap --removeOutliers --colorMap RdYlBu --plotNumbers \
    -o /Users/jchoi/Desktop/heatmap_PearsonCorr.svg --outFileCorMatrix /Users/jchoi/Desktop/heatmap_PearsonCorr.tab

# Scatter plot, Spearman r
$ plotCorrelation -in /Users/jchoi/Desktop/CorrMatrix.npz --corMethod spearman --skipZeros \
    --whatToPlot scatterplot --colorMap RdYlBu -o /Users/jchoi/Desktop/heatmap_SpearmanCorr.svg \
    --outFileCorMatrix /Users/jchoi/Desktop/heatmap_SpearmanCorr.tab

Citation

deepTools

Ramírez, F., Dündar, F., Diehl, S., Grüning, B. A., & Manke, T. (2014). deepTools: a flexible platform for exploring deep-sequencing data. Nucleic acids research, 42(W1), W187-W191. DOI

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

deepTools_MANUAL.md

deepTools_MANUAL.md

Exploring Deep-sequencing Data with deepTools

Installation deepTools

Troubleshooting in Linux Environment

BamCoverage: Convert BAM into bigWig

Example code

Output

bigwigCompare and bamCompare

Example code (Results are not printed)

computeMatrix: Prepare matrix data

Example code

Output

plotHeatmap

Example Code (Results are not printed)

plotProfile

multiBigwigSummary and multiBamSummary

Example Code (Results are not printed)

plotCorrelation

Example Code (Results are not printed)

Citation

deepTools

Files

deepTools_MANUAL.md

Latest commit

History

deepTools_MANUAL.md

File metadata and controls

Exploring Deep-sequencing Data with deepTools

Installation deepTools

Troubleshooting in Linux Environment

BamCoverage: Convert BAM into bigWig

Example code

Output

bigwigCompare and bamCompare

Example code (Results are not printed)

computeMatrix: Prepare matrix data

Example code

Output

plotHeatmap

Example Code (Results are not printed)

plotProfile

multiBigwigSummary and multiBamSummary

Example Code (Results are not printed)

plotCorrelation

Example Code (Results are not printed)

Citation

deepTools