About us
Learn how GA4GH helps expand responsible genomic data use to benefit human health.
CRAM
Uses data compression strategies to efficiently store genomic data
As genomic sequencing increases around the globe, it becomes vital to store the generated data efficiently and sustainably. Maintained by the GA4GH Large Scale Genomics (LSG) Work Stream, the CRAM file format tackles this challenge by efficiently storing genomic data. CRAM can help reduce disk space and storage costs by 30 to 50 per cent, accurately track reference genomes, improve integration within the field, and make data easy to transfer and share with collaborators.
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Benefits
- Significantly reduces the size of genomic sequencing data through compression
- Reduces storage costs and fosters faster data sharing with collaborators
- Provides random access by genomic region and also selectively by data type
Target users
Researchers, and data custodians
THEME
CATEGORY
TYPE
STATUS
Work Stream
LATEST VERSION
Product Lead
- James Bonfield
Staff Contact
Tools & Platforms
Publications
Community resources
Dive deeper into this product! CRAM is a file format that uses various algorithms to compress the data it stores. Some of these algorithms are universal, while others leverage the unique fact that most human genomes are very similar to the reference human genome. CRAM keeps files small by only storing the parts of a sequence that are different to the reference. CRAM’s column-oriented format also allows users to extract information efficiently from particular subsets of the file on particular chromosomes — one of the major use cases involving genomic data.
Date
Title
Info
15 Feb 2023
Please review and provide your feedback for CRAM v3.1 and refget v2.0 by 14 March 2023.
Date
Title
15 Dec 2023
14 Sep 2023
11 Mar 2023
8 Dec 2020
26 Apr 2019
All of Us Research Program
ICGC ARGO
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
Canadian Distributed Infrastructure for Genomics (CanDIG)
European Joint Programme on Rare Disease (EJP RD)
Genomics England
Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa)
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
Genomics England
Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed)
GEnome Medical alliance Japan (GEM Japan)
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
Don't see your name? Get in touch:
- James Bonfield
Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) - Daniel Cameron
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research - Shu Hui Chen
NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) - Guy Cochrane
Independent Contributor - Robert Davies
Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) - Muhammad Haseeb
EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) - John Marshall
University of Glasgow - Arshiya Merchant
- Martin Pollard
Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI)
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