Reference data as tracks

Reference data, such as genome sequences, annotations, known variants, etc, is needed for many types of analyses. When reference data and associated analysis results are in track-based formats, they can be viewed together, allowing investigation and comparison based on shared genomic coordinates (see Track lists).

Common ways of obtaining reference data in a track format include:

  1. Downloading reference data using the Reference Data Manager Common genomes, along with annotations, variants, and other available resources, can be downloaded using the Reference Data Manager. See Download Genomes for details about downloading reference data from various public resources, and QIAGEN Sets for details about downloading human, mouse and rat reference data provided by QIAGEN. The latter is particularly relevant when running template workflows provided by plugins and modules.

  2. Importing reference data Import data in standard formats into the CLC Genomics Workbench as tracks using the Tracks importer (see Import tracks from file).

  3. Creating tracks from existing CLC data elements Create track elements from existing CLC data elements using Convert to Tracks (see Convert to Tracks).