About us
Learn how GA4GH helps expand responsible genomic data use to benefit human health.
SAM/BAM
Provides a format for storing next-generation sequencing read data
When sequencing DNA, the raw sequences that come off a machine — the “reads” — are aligned to a reference genome. Then, thee reads are traditionally stored in one of two file types: a human-readable text file of sequence data called SAM (Sequence Alignment/Map), and its binary counterpart, BAM (Binary Alignment/Map).
Maintained by the GA4GH Large Scale Genomics (LSG) Work Stream, SAM and BAM are used throughout the genomics and health field to store genomic sequences. The highly-compressed version of BAM, CRAM, is transitioning into the field’s preferred file format for storing sequencing reads, as it reduces file size and thus storage costs.
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Benefits
- Provides a common format to store genomic sequence read data
Target users
Researchers, and data custodians
Image summary: Learn how the formats SAM/BAM and CRAM store aligned sequencing reads — a foundational step when working with genomic data.
THEME
CATEGORY
TYPE
STATUS
Work Stream
LATEST VERSION
Product Lead
- James Bonfield
Staff Contact
Tools & Platforms
Publications
Community resources
Dive deeper into this product! The genomics community has traditionally used SAM and BAM to store sequencing reads. In essence, SAM is a TAB-delimited text format consisting of an optional header section and an alignment section that aligns the sequences to a reference genome. Each alignment line has eleven mandatory fields for essential alignment information, such as mapping position. BAM converts this information into binary code, reducing the file size.
Date
Version
22 Aug 2022
Date
Title
15 Dec 2023
14 Sep 2023
11 Mar 2023
Australian Genomics
Don't see your name? Get in touch:
- Robert Davies
Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) - Richard Durbin
University of Cambridge - Yosr Hamdi
Institut Pasteur de Tunis - Michael Hoffman
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - John Marshall
University of Glasgow - Martin Pollard
Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI)
News, events, and more
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