Longread Sv Pipeline

---
name: bio-workflows-longread-sv-pipeline
description: End-to-end workflow for detecting structural variants from long-read sequencing data. Covers ONT/PacBio alignment with minimap2 and SV calling with Sniffles or cuteSV. Use when detecting structural variants from long reads.
tool_type: cli
primary_tool: Sniffles
workflow: true
depends_on:
  - long-read-sequencing/long-read-alignment
  - long-read-sequencing/long-read-qc
  - long-read-sequencing/structural-variants
qc_checkpoints:
  - after_qc: "Read N50 >10kb, quality score >Q10"
  - after_alignment: "Mapping rate >90%, coverage sufficient"
  - after_calling: "SV count reasonable, genotypes concordant"
---

## Version Compatibility

Reference examples tested with: minimap2 2.28+, Sniffles 2.2+, cuteSV 2.1+, bcftools 1.19+, samtools 1.19+, truvari 4.0+

Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
- CLI: `<tool> --version` then `<tool> --help` to confirm flags

Use minimap2 >= 2.28 (has the `lr:hq` accurate-read preset and fixes the 2.27 `--MD` regression). Supply a reference-matched tandem-repeat BED to the caller - it is the single biggest false-positive lever in repeats.

If code throws an error, introspect the installed tool and adapt the example to the actual API rather than retrying.

# Long-Read SV Pipeline

**"Detect structural variants from my long-read sequencing data"** -> Orchestrate minimap2 alignment, SV calling (Sniffles2/cuteSV), VCF merging across callers, annotation (AnnotSV), and visualization for ONT or PacBio data.

Complete workflow for detecting structural variants from ONT or PacBio long-read data.

## Workflow Overview

```
Long reads (ONT/PacBio)
    |
    v
[1. QC] ----------------> NanoPlot
    |
    v
[2. Alignment] ---------> minimap2
    |
    v
[3. SV Calling] --------> Sniffles / cuteSV
    |
    v
[4. Filtering] ---------> bcftools
    |
    v
[5. Annotation] --------> AnnotSV (optional)
    |
    v
Filtered SV VCF
```

## Primary Path: minimap2 + Sniffles

### Step 1: Quality Control

```bash
# ONT reads QC
NanoPlot --fastq reads.fastq.gz \
    --outdir nanoplot_output \
    --threads 8

# Check key metrics
# - Read N50 should be >10kb
# - Mean quality >Q10
# - Total bases sufficient for coverage
```

### Step 2: Alignment with minimap2

The `-Y` (soft-clip supplementary) flag is load-bearing for SV calling: it keeps the breakpoint sequence on the split reads that callers reconstruct SVs from. Use `lr:hq` for accurate R10/Q20 ONT instead of `map-ont`.

```bash
# ONT reads (map-ont for noisy R9; lr:hq for accurate R10/Q20 - faster, equal accuracy)
minimap2 -ax map-ont \
    -t 16 \
    --MD \
    -Y \
    reference.fa \
    reads.fastq.gz | \
    samtools sort -@ 4 -o aligned.bam

samtools index aligned.bam

# PacBio HiFi
minimap2 -ax map-hifi \
    -t 16 \
    --MD \
    -Y \
    reference.fa \
    reads.fastq.gz | \
    samtools sort -@ 4 -o aligned.bam

# PacBio CLR
minimap2 -ax map-pb \
    -t 16 \
    --MD \
    -Y \
    reference.fa \
    reads.fastq.gz | \
    samtools sort -@ 4 -o aligned.bam
```

**QC Checkpoint:** Check alignment stats
```bash
samtools flagstat aligned.bam
samtools depth -a aligned.bam | awk '{sum+=$3} END {print "Average coverage:",sum/NR}'
```
- Mapping rate >90%
- Average coverage >10x for SV calling (>20x preferred)

### Step 3: SV Calling with Sniffles

```bash
# Sniffles2 (recommended)
sniffles \
    --input aligned.bam \
    --vcf svs.vcf.gz \
    --reference reference.fa \
    --threads 8 \
    --minsvlen 50

# With tandem repeat annotations (recommended)
sniffles \
    --input aligned.bam \
    --vcf svs.vcf.gz \
    --reference reference.fa \
    --tandem-repeats tandem_repeats.bed \
    --threads 8
```

### Alternative: cuteSV

cuteSV's defaults are NOT platform-appropriate; pass the platform-matched cluster-bias/merge-ratio set (ONT shown below; HiFi uses 1000/0.9/1000/0.5, CLR uses 100/0.3/200/0.5). `--genotype` is off by default.

```bash
# cuteSV with the ONT parameter set
cuteSV \
    aligned.bam \
    reference.fa \
    svs.vcf \
    work_dir/ \
    --threads 8 \
    --genotype \
    --max_cluster_bias_INS 100 --diff_ratio_merging_INS 0.3 \
    --max_cluster_bias_DEL 100 --diff_ratio_merging_DEL 0.3

bgzip svs.vcf
tabix svs.vcf.gz
```

### Step 4: Filtering

```bash
# Filter by quality and size
bcftools view -i 'QUAL>=20 && ABS(SVLEN)>=50' svs.vcf.gz -Oz -o svs.filtered.vcf.gz

# Filter by SV type
bcftools view -i 'SVTYPE="DEL" || SVTYPE="INS"' svs.filtered.vcf.gz -Oz -o del_ins.vcf.gz

# Filter by genotype
bcftools view -i 'GT="1/1" || GT="0/1"' svs.filtered.vcf.gz -Oz -o genotyped.vcf.gz

# Stats
bcftools stats svs.filtered.vcf.gz > sv_stats.txt
```

### Step 5: Annotation (Optional)

```bash
# AnnotSV for gene/clinical annotations
AnnotSV -SVinputFile svs.filtered.vcf.gz \
    -outputFile annotated_svs \
    -genomeBuild GRCh38
```

## Multi-Sample SV Calling

```bash
# Call SVs per sample
for sample in sample1 sample2 sample3; do
    sniffles --input ${sample}.bam \
        --snf ${sample}.snf \
        --reference reference.fa
done

# Merge and joint genotype
sniffles --input sample1.snf sample2.snf sample3.snf \
    --vcf merged_svs.vcf.gz \
    --reference reference.fa
```

## Parameter Recommendations

| Tool | Parameter | ONT | PacBio HiFi |
|------|-----------|-----|-------------|
| minimap2 | -ax | map-ont (R9) / lr:hq (R10) | map-hifi |
| Sniffles | --minsvlen | 35 default (set 50 for the GIAB >=50bp convention) | same |
| Sniffles | --minsupport | auto (coverage-derived) | auto |
| Sniffles | --tandem-repeats | reference-matched TR BED (critical) | same |
| cuteSV | INS/DEL cluster-bias, merge-ratio | 100/0.3, 100/0.3 | 1000/0.9, 1000/0.5 |

Benchmark calls with Truvari against GIAB (`truvari bench` then `truvari refine`), and state the region set, TR BED, and Truvari params - they move precision/recall as much as the caller. For tumor-normal somatic SVs use a paired caller (Severus/nanomonsv), not Sniffles `--mosaic`.

## SV Types Detected

| Type | Abbreviation | Description |
|------|--------------|-------------|
| Deletion | DEL | Sequence removed |
| Insertion | INS | Sequence added |
| Duplication | DUP | Sequence copied |
| Inversion | INV | Sequence reversed |
| Translocation | BND | Breakend (interchromosomal) |

## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Likely Cause | Solution |
|-------|--------------|----------|
| Few SVs | Low coverage | Increase sequencing depth |
| Many false positives | Low quality reads | Filter by QUAL, increase min support |
| Missing known SV | Repeat region | Use tandem repeat annotations |
| High breakend count | Mapping artifacts | Check alignment quality |

## Complete Pipeline Script

```bash
#!/bin/bash
set -e

THREADS=16
READS="reads.fastq.gz"
REF="reference.fa"
SAMPLE="sample1"
OUTDIR="sv_results"

mkdir -p ${OUTDIR}/{qc,aligned,sv}

# Step 1: QC
echo "=== QC ==="
NanoPlot --fastq ${READS} --outdir ${OUTDIR}/qc -t ${THREADS}

# Step 2: Alignment
echo "=== Alignment ==="
minimap2 -ax map-ont -t ${THREADS} --MD -Y ${REF} ${READS} | \
    samtools sort -@ 4 -o ${OUTDIR}/aligned/${SAMPLE}.bam
samtools index ${OUTDIR}/aligned/${SAMPLE}.bam

echo "Alignment stats:"
samtools flagstat ${OUTDIR}/aligned/${SAMPLE}.bam

# Step 3: SV calling
echo "=== SV Calling ==="
sniffles --input ${OUTDIR}/aligned/${SAMPLE}.bam \
    --vcf ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.vcf.gz \
    --reference ${REF} \
    --threads ${THREADS}

# Step 4: Filter
echo "=== Filtering ==="
bcftools view -i 'QUAL>=20' ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.vcf.gz \
    -Oz -o ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.filtered.vcf.gz
bcftools index ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.filtered.vcf.gz

# Stats
bcftools stats ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.filtered.vcf.gz > ${OUTDIR}/sv/stats.txt

echo "=== Complete ==="
echo "SVs: $(bcftools view -H ${OUTDIR}/sv/${SAMPLE}.filtered.vcf.gz | wc -l)"
```

## Related Skills

- long-read-sequencing/long-read-alignment - minimap2 preset and `-Y` details
- long-read-sequencing/structural-variants - Sniffles2 .snf workflow, cuteSV per-platform params, Truvari
- long-read-sequencing/long-read-qc - Read QC and chimera screening before SV calling
- long-read-sequencing/haplotype-phasing - Haplotag the BAM for phased/somatic SVs
- variant-calling/structural-variant-calling - Short-read SV methods