Geotag - Quickly Tag Samples from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus

Geotag is a utility to quickly tag studies and samples from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) on the command line.

Features

• Display custom data table with custom columns that help to tag a samples/rows.
• Allow the user to modify the sample list to attach additional columns retrospectivly.
• Quickly display sample specific part of the relevant soft file.
• Filter and search data rows based on regular expressions.
• Custom sorting and organization of columns.
• Tag based line coloring for better overview and feedback to prevent mistakes.
• Allow adjustment of tag definitions.
• Allow creation of new tags that are shared between all users.
• Self-contained documentation to show the user all features without the need to read a manual.
• Undo/redo ability.
• Automatic backups that do not accumulate indefinitely.
• Select, show and tag multiple samples/rows simultaneously.
• Allow to make a note per sample/row.
• Quick and easy navigation.
• Log all tag relevant user interactions.
• Save the results automatically and in a human readable format.
• Save last state upon exit to allow continuing where the work was left off upon restart.

Installation

Geotag runs in Python 3.6 and and later versions. It uses the Python curses module for an interactive user interface on the command line, tmux to display and organize multiple terminals and less to inspeact GEO soft files. Make sure tmux runs in 256 color mode, e.g., by writing set -g default-terminal "screen-256color" into your ~/.tmux.conf befor starting tmux. You can install Geotag with pip:

pip3 install git+https://github.com/fraunhofer-izi/geotag

Input

The base of the tagging is a table of all samples that should be tagged. The table must be tab-separated and contain the columns gse with the GEO Series accession GSExxx and id with the GEO sample accession GSMxxx. Any additional columns may provide supportive information. An example is given in example/geo_sampe_table.tsv:

platform_id	gse	id	characteristics
GPL10999	GSE48305	GSM1174473	tissue: peripheral blood
GPL10999	GSE48305	GSM1174472	tissue: peripheral blood
GPL10999	GSE38993	GSM953384	cell type: lung fibroblast iPSC
GPL10999	GSE38993	GSM953383	cell type: foreskin fibroblast iPSC

The table is passed with --table example/geo_sampe_table.tsv

Most information on the sample is accessible in the GEO soft files. In order to make the content available to Geotag all relevant soft files need to be organized such that the soft file of GSExxx is located in /path/to/the/soft/files/GSExxx/GSExxx_family.soft. To download and organize the soft files accordingly one could use the script download_soft.sh with a list of line separated GSE numbers <gse list> by

cat <gse list> | xargs -n1 ./download_soft.sh /path/to/the/soft/files

Output

Per default, Geotag writes all its output into the directory ~/geotag. There are four different files:

1. The tag file, holding the tag descriptions (default tag.yml).
2. The output file with the tags given to the samples (default <user name>.yml).
3. A log-file loging many user actions (default <user namer>.log).
4. A binary view file saving the view state of Geotag so you can continue where you left off after restarting Geotag (default <user name>.pkl).

An alternative output path for each of these files can be specified respectively with the arguments --tags, --output, --log and --state.

Format

The output file is a yaml with the following structure:

tag definitions:
  <tag name>:
    col_width: <integer>
    desc: <str>
    editor: <str user name>
    key: <char>
    type: <"int" or "str">
  <next tag name ...>
tags:
  <tag name>:
    <gse numer>_<gsm number>(<uniquifying integer if neccesarry>): <value>
    <...>
  <next tag name ...>

Saving and Backups

The output file is saved in an asynchronous thread after each tagging action by the user. There is no feedback on whether the detached thread successfully saved the file. If the user wants to make sure the latest information is saved, a synchronous save can be triggered with the key s.

All tagging actions can be undone with the key u. However, if geotag is restarted, previous actions cannot be undone. To prevent any loss of information a backup of the output file with the appendix .backup_<date and time> is saved after every 10th action. The user can restore a backup by removing the appendix from the file name. Geotag will keep at most ten backups by removing the oldest backup if this number is exceeded.

Collaboration

To work together in a team, it is recommended to use a unique tag file that all members can write to. Whenever a member updates a tag description or adds a new tag, the change becomes available to another member as soon as she presses t to view the tag-dialog.

Note that all tag descriptions are also stored in the output file, and upon a change of a tag description, all tags available to a user will be written to the tag file. So to remove a tag, each member of a team has to remove it.

If you want to share additional information between the team members, e.g., the values they have tagged, it is recommended to write such info to the input table e.g., through a periodically repeated routine. The members can reload the displayed table by pressing l.

Execution

Geotag needs to be run inside a tmux session. This allows Geotag to display multiple soft files with the reliable pager less and while using all the window splitting and organizing features of tmux. If the output should be stored in the default path, you can run Geotag with

python3 -m geotag --table example/geo_sampe_table.tsv --softPath example/soft

Troubleshooting

Some issues can be resolved by restarting Geotag with the --update option. This will clear the current view state and leave the user at the top of the table with default view settings. Another common issue is incomplete keypress forwarding in the used terminal emulator. The key forwarded to Geotag can be displayed in the status bar if you start it with --showKey.

Documentation

Press h after getoag has loaded to receive help. Sub-windows of Geotag list all available options at the top of the window.

License

Copyright (C) 2019 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. acting on behalf of its Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI).

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.