SSRgenotyper: A simple sequence repeat genotyping application for whole-genome resequencing and reduced representational sequencing projects

Abstract

PREMISE: Many programs can identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs in genomic data. SSRgenotyper extends SSR identification to en masse genotyping from resequencing data for diversity panels and linkage mapping populations. METHODS AND RESULTS: SSRgenotyper will find and genotype SSRs from SAM files and an SSR reference FASTA. Several outputs are possible, including a simple table with the SSR marker name, position, and SSR alleles, defined by the repeat number of the repeat motif. Specific output files include a GENEPOP-formatted file for downstream genetic diversity analyses and a traditional A, H, B mapping file output that is phased to the parents of the population for biparental linkage map construction. Linkage maps produced using SSRgenotyper genotypes were highly collinear with physical maps and correctly inferred known phylogenies. CONCLUSIONS: SSRgenotyper provides an easy-to-use, accurate, and scalable SSR genotyping platform for whole-genome resequencing data. SSRgenotyper is freely available at https://github.com/dlewis27/SSRgenotyper.