SAM/BAM

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).

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.