ggpedigree: Visualizing Pedigrees with 'ggplot2' and 'plotly'

Area of Science:

• Genetics and Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Data Visualization

Background:

• Pedigree diagrams are crucial tools in genetics, animal breeding, genealogy, forensics, and counseling.
• Existing R tools like kinship2 struggle to visualize large and complex pedigrees exceeding thousands of individuals.
• Modern research involves increasingly complex family structures, necessitating scalable pedigree visualization solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce ggpedigree, a novel R package designed for visualizing large and complex pedigrees.
• To address the limitations of existing pedigree visualization tools in handling extensive datasets.
• To provide an effective and scalable solution for pedigree analysis in diverse research fields.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel vectorised layout algorithm for pedigree visualization.
• Integration with ggplot2 for high-quality static plot output.
• Incorporation of optional Plotly interactivity for enhanced data exploration.

Main Results:

• ggpedigree successfully visualizes large-scale pedigrees with thousands of individuals.
• The tool handles complex family structures effectively, outperforming existing methods.
• Generated plots are compatible with ggplot2 and can be made interactive with Plotly.

Conclusions:

• ggpedigree offers a scalable and effective solution for visualizing complex and large-scale pedigrees.
• The package enhances the utility of pedigree analysis in genetics, breeding, and other related fields.
• ggpedigree represents a significant advancement in computational tools for family structure visualization.