SNP2STR: A USER FRIENDLY SOFTWARE FOR CREATING INPUT FILES FOR STRUCTURE SOFTWARE FROM SNP DATA

Abstract

STRUCTURE is a software package that uses molecular data from multiple loci to analyze population structure. To analyze Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data using STRUCTURE, a specific input file format is required. However, because SNP studies often involve thousands of loci, these input files are typically too large to edit manually. To address this challenge, several software tools and functions have been developed. However, in the case of plant data, some of these tools either fail to process the data correctly or generate inaccurate input files. To overcome these issues, a new software tool - SNP2STR - has been developed. SNP2STR converts SNP data into the input format required by Structure. It generates a file with an optional first row containing marker names, followed by two rows of data per individual, formatted according to the corresponding markers. The software is open-source and available on GitHub. It also offers potential for future upgrades based on user feedback.