Article,
Circos: An information aesthetic for comparative genomics
Genome Research, (2009)
DOI: 10.1101/gr.092759.109
Abstract
We created a visualization tool, called Circos, to
facilitate the identification and analysis of
similarities and differences arising from comparisons
of genomes. Our tool is effective in displaying
variation in genome structure and, generally, any other
kind of positional relationships between genomic
intervals. Such data are routinely produced by sequence
alignments, hybridization arrays, genome mapping, and
genotyping studies. Circos uses a circular ideogram
layout to facilitate the display of relationships
between pairs of positions by the use of ribbons, which
encode the position, size, and orientation of related
genomic elements. Circos is capable of displaying data
as scatter, line and histogram plots, heat maps, tiles,
connectors and text. Bitmap or vector images can be
created from GFF-style data inputs and hierarchical
configuration files, which can be easily generated by
automated tools, making Circos suitable for rapid
deployment in data analysis and reporting pipelines.
