Unconfigured Ad

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • loui_
    Junior Member
    • Oct 2019
    • 3

    #1

    Non-ascii characters in bam file causes htseq-count error

    Hello everybody,

    I have aligned bam files (using STAR version 2.6.1a_08-27) and want to quantify them using htseq-count (version 0.9.1). When I run htseq-count, some bams run through perfectly fine, but for some I get following error:

    >>>
    ....
    13300000 SAM alignment record pairs processed.
    13400000 SAM alignment record pairs processed.
    Error occured when processing SAM input (record #26816395 in file /data/folder/file.bam):
    'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xe4 in position 4: ordinal not in range(128)
    [Exception type: UnicodeDecodeError, raised in libcutils.pyx:134]
    >>>

    When I go back to the bam file, this specific line (26816395) contains a question mark in the quality part of the read (either ? or ^?). I used to deal with this by just removing this line since it were only one or a few reads per file; but now I have at least 30 lines or more with question marks, so I don't just want to remove all the reads.
    The problem is that the character is not REALLY a question mark (I know this because when i try to grep for '?', nothing comes up). This means that it is just a substitution for an unknown character.


    So my question is: how do I remove non-ascii characters in the bam file?
    (alternatively: does somebody know where they come from in the first place? Can I redo the alignment using different parameters?)


    I've been trying to find a solution for quite some time and I appreciate any help or work around

    Thanks!
  • GenoMax
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2008
    • 7142

    #2
    Cross-posted (and has a possible answer): https://www.biostars.org/p/402237/

    Comment

    • loui_
      Junior Member
      • Oct 2019
      • 3

      #3
      Hi GenoMax!
      Thanks for pointing this out, I posted the question here yesterday, but I didn't see it online nor did I get a mail that is was in the process of posting/ under review or anything similar. I figured it was a problem so that's why I posted it again on Biostars

      Sorry! I will delete it here.
      Thanks


      .....
      edit: how does one delete a thread?
      Last edited by loui_; 10-10-2019, 04:42 AM.

      Comment

      • GenoMax
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2008
        • 7142

        #4
        No need to delete. If someone finds this thread by search they will know where to get the answer.

        Comment

        Latest Articles

        Collapse

        • SEQadmin2
          Multiomic Liquid Biopsy: What DNA/RNA Panels Reveal That DNA Alone Can’t
          by SEQadmin2



          Tumors contain complex mixtures of cell populations that evolve in response to treatment and host-specific factors. Tissue biopsies provide only static snapshots of a tumor’s state. But what if we could follow that evolution over time using a minimally invasive technique?

          Liquid biopsies can detect tumor-derived material circulating in the bloodstream, providing a way to study treatment response, detect emerging resistance, and discover new biomarkers. Circulating
          ...
          Today, 09:55 AM
        • SEQadmin2
          New Genomics Technologies Take Aim at Long-Standing Limits
          by SEQadmin2


          Researchers using sequencing and genomics tools often have to make trade-offs. They can choose between speed or scale, short reads or long-range information, or targeted panels or a view of the whole transcriptome. New technologies that have been released this year are built to address those tough choices.

          We asked six companies the same four questions to learn about their latest products. The new technologies bring a lot to the table, including rethinking sequencing
          ...
          09-28-2026, 10:25 AM

        ad_right_rmr

        Collapse

        News

        Collapse

        Topics Statistics Last Post
        Started by SEQadmin2, Today, 05:39 AM
        0 responses
        9 views
        0 reactions
        Last Post SEQadmin2  
        Started by SEQadmin2, Yesterday, 09:56 AM
        0 responses
        11 views
        0 reactions
        Last Post SEQadmin2  
        Started by SEQadmin2, 10-09-2026, 11:14 AM
        0 responses
        25 views
        0 reactions
        Last Post SEQadmin2  
        Started by SEQadmin2, 09-29-2026, 09:51 AM
        0 responses
        76 views
        0 reactions
        Last Post SEQadmin2  
        Working...