skater: an R package for SNP-based kinship analysis, testing, and evaluation

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• SNP-based kinship analysis is crucial for understanding genetic relationships.
• Current methods often require extensive downstream processing and manipulation.
• A need exists for a user-friendly software package to streamline these analyses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the skater R package for SNP-based kinship analysis.
• To provide a comprehensive suite of tools for relationship estimation and IBD segment analysis.
• To facilitate intuitive data import, parsing, and analysis.

Main Methods:

• Development of the skater R package.
• Implementation of tools for pedigree data import and parsing.
• Integration of relationship degree inference and benchmarking functionalities.
• Inclusion of IBD segment data summarization tools.

Main Results:

• The skater package offers a consistent and intuitive platform for SNP-based kinship analysis.
• It enables efficient relationship degree inference and classification benchmarking.
• The package facilitates the summarization of Identity By Descent (IBD) segment data.
• All functionalities are integrated within the R environment.

Conclusions:

• The skater R package addresses the need for streamlined SNP-based kinship analysis.
• It enhances the efficiency of genetic relationship estimation and IBD segment analysis.
• The package provides a valuable resource for researchers in genetics and bioinformatics.