Agent skill
bio-variant-annotation
Comprehensive variant annotation using bcftools annotate/csq, VEP, SnpEff, and ANNOVAR. Add database annotations, predict functional consequences, and assess clinical significance. Use when annotating variants with functional and clinical information.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/FreedomIntelligence/OpenClaw-Medical-Skills/tree/main/skills/bio-variant-annotation
SKILL.md
Version Compatibility
Reference examples tested with: bcftools 1.19+
Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
- Python:
pip show <package>thenhelp(module.function)to check signatures - CLI:
<tool> --versionthen<tool> --helpto confirm flags
If code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.
Variant Annotation
Tool Comparison
| Tool | Best For | Speed | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| bcftools csq | Simple consequence prediction | Fast | VCF |
| VEP | Comprehensive with plugins | Moderate | VCF/TXT |
| SnpEff | Fast batch annotation | Fast | VCF |
| ANNOVAR | Flexible databases | Moderate | TXT |
bcftools annotate
Goal: Add or remove INFO/ID annotations from external databases using bcftools.
Approach: Match variants by position and allele against annotation VCF/BED/TAB files, copying specified columns.
"Add rsIDs to my VCF from dbSNP" → Match variant positions against a database and copy identifiers or annotation fields into the VCF.
Add Annotations from Database
bcftools annotate -a dbsnp.vcf.gz -c ID input.vcf.gz -Oz -o annotated.vcf.gz
Annotation Columns (-c)
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
ID |
Copy ID column |
INFO |
Copy all INFO fields |
INFO/TAG |
Copy specific INFO field |
+INFO/TAG |
Add to existing values |
Add rsIDs from dbSNP
bcftools annotate -a dbsnp.vcf.gz -c ID input.vcf.gz -Oz -o with_rsids.vcf.gz
Add Multiple Annotations
bcftools annotate -a database.vcf.gz -c ID,INFO/AF,INFO/CAF input.vcf.gz -Oz -o annotated.vcf.gz
Add from BED/TAB Files
# BED with 4th column as annotation
bcftools annotate -a regions.bed.gz -c CHROM,FROM,TO,INFO/REGION \
-h <(echo '##INFO=<ID=REGION,Number=1,Type=String,Description="Region name">') \
input.vcf.gz -Oz -o annotated.vcf.gz
# Tab file: CHROM POS VALUE
bcftools annotate -a annotations.tab.gz -c CHROM,POS,INFO/SCORE \
-h <(echo '##INFO=<ID=SCORE,Number=1,Type=Float,Description="Custom score">') \
input.vcf.gz -Oz -o annotated.vcf.gz
Remove Annotations
bcftools annotate -x INFO/DP,INFO/MQ input.vcf.gz -Oz -o clean.vcf.gz
bcftools annotate -x INFO input.vcf.gz -Oz -o minimal.vcf.gz # Remove all INFO
Set ID from Fields
bcftools annotate --set-id '%CHROM\_%POS\_%REF\_%ALT' input.vcf.gz -Oz -o with_ids.vcf.gz
bcftools csq
Goal: Predict functional consequences of variants using gene annotations.
Approach: Map variants to GFF3 gene models and classify as synonymous, missense, frameshift, etc.
Simple consequence prediction using GFF annotation.
bcftools csq -f reference.fa -g genes.gff3.gz input.vcf.gz -Oz -o consequences.vcf.gz
Consequence Types
| Consequence | Description |
|---|---|
synonymous |
No amino acid change |
missense |
Amino acid change |
stop_gained |
Introduces stop codon |
frameshift |
Changes reading frame |
splice_donor/acceptor |
Affects splicing |
Ensembl VEP
Goal: Annotate variants comprehensively with consequence, impact, pathogenicity scores, and population frequencies.
Approach: Run VEP with offline cache, enabling SIFT, PolyPhen, HGVS, frequency, and plugin-based predictions.
"Annotate my variants with functional consequences" → Predict coding effects, impact severity, and pathogenicity using Ensembl's Variant Effect Predictor.
Installation
conda install -c bioconda ensembl-vep
vep_install -a cf -s homo_sapiens -y GRCh38 --CONVERT
Basic Annotation
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf --vcf --cache --offline
Comprehensive Annotation
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf \
--vcf \
--cache --offline \
--species homo_sapiens \
--assembly GRCh38 \
--everything \
--fork 4
--everything Enables
--sift b- SIFT predictions--polyphen b- PolyPhen predictions--hgvs- HGVS nomenclature--symbol- Gene symbols--canonical- Canonical transcript--af- 1000 Genomes frequencies--af_gnomade/g- gnomAD frequencies--pubmed- PubMed IDs
Filter by Impact
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf --vcf \
--cache --offline \
--pick \
--filter "IMPACT in HIGH,MODERATE"
Plugins
# CADD scores
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf --vcf \
--cache --offline \
--plugin CADD,whole_genome_SNVs.tsv.gz
# dbNSFP (multiple predictors)
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf --vcf \
--cache --offline \
--plugin dbNSFP,dbNSFP4.3a.gz,ALL
# Multiple plugins
vep -i input.vcf -o output.vcf --vcf \
--cache --offline \
--plugin CADD,cadd.tsv.gz \
--plugin dbNSFP,dbnsfp.gz,SIFT_score,Polyphen2_HDIV_score \
--plugin SpliceAI,spliceai.vcf.gz
VEP Output Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Consequence | SO term (e.g., missense_variant) |
| IMPACT | HIGH, MODERATE, LOW, MODIFIER |
| SYMBOL | Gene symbol |
| HGVSc/HGVSp | HGVS coding/protein change |
| SIFT/PolyPhen | Pathogenicity predictions |
SnpEff
Goal: Annotate variants with gene effects and impact categories using SnpEff.
Approach: Run SnpEff ann against a genome database, then use SnpSift for database cross-referencing and filtering.
Installation
conda install -c bioconda snpeff
snpEff download GRCh38.105
Basic Annotation
snpEff ann GRCh38.105 input.vcf > output.vcf
With Statistics
snpEff ann -v -stats stats.html -csvStats stats.csv GRCh38.105 input.vcf > output.vcf
Filter by Impact
snpEff ann GRCh38.105 input.vcf | \
SnpSift filter "(ANN[*].IMPACT = 'HIGH')" > high_impact.vcf
SnpEff Impact Categories
| Impact | Examples |
|---|---|
| HIGH | Stop gained, frameshift, splice donor/acceptor |
| MODERATE | Missense, inframe indel |
| LOW | Synonymous, splice region |
| MODIFIER | Intron, intergenic, UTR |
SnpSift Database Annotations
# dbSNP
SnpSift annotate dbsnp.vcf.gz input.vcf > annotated.vcf
# ClinVar
SnpSift annotate clinvar.vcf.gz input.vcf > annotated.vcf
# dbNSFP
SnpSift dbnsfp -db dbNSFP4.3a.txt.gz input.vcf > annotated.vcf
# Chain multiple
snpEff ann GRCh38.105 input.vcf | \
SnpSift annotate dbsnp.vcf.gz | \
SnpSift annotate clinvar.vcf.gz > fully_annotated.vcf
SnpSift Filtering
SnpSift filter "(QUAL >= 30) & (DP >= 10)" input.vcf > filtered.vcf
SnpSift filter "(exists CLNSIG) & (CLNSIG has 'Pathogenic')" input.vcf > pathogenic.vcf
ANNOVAR
Goal: Annotate variants with gene, frequency, and pathogenicity databases using ANNOVAR.
Approach: Run table_annovar.pl with multiple protocols (gene, filter, region) against downloaded annotation databases.
Installation
# Download from https://annovar.openbioinformatics.org/ (registration required)
annotate_variation.pl -buildver hg38 -downdb -webfrom annovar refGene humandb/
annotate_variation.pl -buildver hg38 -downdb -webfrom annovar gnomad30_genome humandb/
Table Annotation
table_annovar.pl input.vcf humandb/ \
-buildver hg38 \
-out annotated \
-remove \
-protocol refGene,gnomad30_genome,clinvar_20230416,dbnsfp42a \
-operation g,f,f,f \
-nastring . \
-vcfinput
Python: Parse Annotated VCF
Goal: Extract and interpret annotation fields from VEP CSQ or SnpEff ANN strings in Python.
Approach: Parse pipe-delimited annotation strings against the header-defined field order, then filter by impact or consequence.
Parse VEP CSQ
from cyvcf2 import VCF
def parse_vep_csq(csq_string, csq_header):
fields = csq_header.split('|')
values = csq_string.split('|')
return dict(zip(fields, values))
vcf = VCF('vep_output.vcf')
csq_header = None
for h in vcf.header_iter():
if h['HeaderType'] == 'INFO' and h['ID'] == 'CSQ':
csq_header = h['Description'].split('Format: ')[1].rstrip('"')
break
for variant in vcf:
csq = variant.INFO.get('CSQ')
if csq:
for transcript in csq.split(','):
parsed = parse_vep_csq(transcript, csq_header)
if parsed.get('IMPACT') in ('HIGH', 'MODERATE'):
print(f"{variant.CHROM}:{variant.POS} {parsed['SYMBOL']} {parsed['Consequence']}")
Parse SnpEff ANN
from cyvcf2 import VCF
def parse_snpeff_ann(ann_string):
fields = ['Allele', 'Annotation', 'Impact', 'Gene_Name', 'Gene_ID',
'Feature_Type', 'Feature_ID', 'Transcript_BioType', 'Rank',
'HGVS_c', 'HGVS_p', 'cDNA_pos', 'CDS_pos', 'Protein_pos', 'Distance']
values = ann_string.split('|')
return dict(zip(fields, values[:len(fields)]))
for variant in VCF('snpeff_output.vcf'):
ann = variant.INFO.get('ANN')
if ann:
for transcript in ann.split(','):
parsed = parse_snpeff_ann(transcript)
if parsed['Impact'] == 'HIGH':
print(f"{variant.CHROM}:{variant.POS} {parsed['Gene_Name']} {parsed['Annotation']}")
Complete Annotation Pipeline
Goal: Run a full annotation workflow from normalization through VEP annotation to impact filtering.
Approach: Normalize variants, annotate with VEP (--everything --pick), then filter for HIGH/MODERATE impact.
#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
INPUT=$1
REFERENCE=$2
VEP_CACHE=$3
OUTPUT_PREFIX=$4
# Normalize variants
bcftools norm -f $REFERENCE -m-any $INPUT -Oz -o ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_norm.vcf.gz
bcftools index ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_norm.vcf.gz
# VEP annotation
vep -i ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_norm.vcf.gz \
-o ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_vep.vcf \
--vcf --cache --offline --dir_cache $VEP_CACHE \
--assembly GRCh38 --everything --pick --fork 4
bgzip ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_vep.vcf
bcftools index ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_vep.vcf.gz
# Filter high/moderate impact
bcftools view -i 'INFO/CSQ~"HIGH" || INFO/CSQ~"MODERATE"' \
${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_vep.vcf.gz -Oz -o ${OUTPUT_PREFIX}_filtered.vcf.gz
Pathogenicity Predictors
| Predictor | Deleterious | Benign |
|---|---|---|
| SIFT | < 0.05 | >= 0.05 |
| PolyPhen-2 (HDIV) | > 0.957 (probably), > 0.453 (possibly) | <= 0.453 |
| CADD | > 20 (top 1%), > 30 (top 0.1%) | < 10 |
| REVEL | > 0.5 | < 0.5 |
Clinical Significance (ClinVar)
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pathogenic | Disease-causing |
| Likely_pathogenic | Probably disease-causing |
| Uncertain_significance | VUS |
| Likely_benign | Probably not disease-causing |
| Benign | Not disease-causing |
Quick Reference
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Add rsIDs | bcftools annotate -a dbsnp.vcf.gz -c ID in.vcf.gz |
| VEP annotation | vep -i in.vcf -o out.vcf --vcf --cache --everything |
| SnpEff annotation | snpEff ann GRCh38.105 in.vcf > out.vcf |
| Consequences only | bcftools csq -f ref.fa -g genes.gff in.vcf.gz |
Related Skills
- variant-calling/variant-normalization - Normalize before annotating
- variant-calling/filtering-best-practices - Filter by annotations
- variant-calling/vcf-basics - Query annotated fields
- database-access/entrez-fetch - Download annotation databases
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
vcf-annotator
Annotate VCF variants with VEP, ClinVar, gnomAD frequencies, and ancestry-aware context. Generates prioritised variant reports.
chemist-analyst
Analyzes events through chemistry lens using molecular structure, reaction mechanisms, thermodynamics, kinetics, and analytical techniques (spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry). Provides insights on chemical processes, material properties, reaction pathways, synthesis, and analytical methods. Use when: Chemical reactions, material analysis, synthesis planning, process optimization, environmental chemistry. Evaluates: Molecular structure, reaction mechanisms, yield, selectivity, safety, environmental impact.
bio-alignment-io
Read, write, and convert multiple sequence alignment files using Biopython Bio.AlignIO. Supports Clustal, PHYLIP, Stockholm, FASTA, Nexus, and other alignment formats for phylogenetics and conservation analysis. Use when reading, writing, or converting alignment file formats.
sleep-analyzer
分析睡眠数据、识别睡眠模式、评估睡眠质量,并提供个性化睡眠改善建议。支持与其他健康数据的关联分析。
metabolomics-workbench-database
Access NIH Metabolomics Workbench via REST API (4,200+ studies). Query metabolites, RefMet nomenclature, MS/NMR data, m/z searches, study metadata, for metabolomics and biomarker discovery.
bio-hi-c-analysis-matrix-operations
Balance, normalize, and transform Hi-C contact matrices using cooler and cooltools. Apply iterative correction (ICE), compute expected values, and generate observed/expected matrices. Use when normalizing or transforming Hi-C matrices.
Didn't find tool you were looking for?