| aligncopy

## Wiki

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## Function

Read and write alignments

## Description

aligncopy reads a set of aligned sequences and reports the alignment using any of the standard EMBOSS alignment formats that can report on the size of the input alignment. An input of two aligned sequences will allow any of the pairwise formats to be used. Other input sizes will reject any pairwise alignment format. Use aligncopypair to print these alignments one pair at a time.

## Usage

Here is a sample session with aligncopy

    % aligncopy
    Read and write alignments
    Input (aligned) sequence set: globins.msf
    Output alignment [globins.aligncopy]:

Go to the input files for this example
Go to the output files for this example

## Command line arguments

    Read and write alignments
    Version: EMBOSS:6.5.6.0

       Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers:
      [-sequences]         seqset     File containing a sequence alignment.
      [-outfile]           align      [*.aligncopy] Output alignment file name
                                      (default -aformat simple)

       Additional (Optional) qualifiers:
       -name               string     Name of the alignment (Any string)
       -comment            string     Comment on the alignment (Any string)
       -append             boolean    [N] This allows you to append the name and
                                      comments you have given on to the end of the
                                      existing alignment header.

       Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers: (none)
       Associated qualifiers:

       "-sequences" associated qualifiers
       -sbegin1            integer    Start of each sequence to be used
       -send1              integer    End of each sequence to be used
       -sreverse1          boolean    Reverse (if DNA)
       -sask1              boolean    Ask for begin/end/reverse
       -snucleotide1       boolean    Sequence is nucleotide
       -sprotein1          boolean    Sequence is protein
       -slower1            boolean    Make lower case
       -supper1            boolean    Make upper case
       -scircular1         boolean    Sequence is circular
       -sformat1           string     Input sequence format
       -iquery1            string     Input query fields or ID list
       -ioffset1           integer    Input start position offset
       -sdbname1           string     Database name
       -sid1               string     Entryname
       -ufo1               string     UFO features
       -fformat1           string     Features format
       -fopenfile1         string     Features file name

       "-outfile" associated qualifiers
       -aformat2           string     Alignment format
       -aextension2        string     File name extension
       -adirectory2        string     Output directory
       -aname2             string     Base file name
       -awidth2            integer    Alignment width
       -aaccshow2          boolean    Show accession number in the header
       -adesshow2          boolean    Show description in the header
       -ausashow2          boolean    Show the full USA in the alignment
       -aglobal2           boolean    Show the full sequence in alignment

       General qualifiers:
       -auto               boolean    Turn off prompts
       -stdout             boolean    Write first file to standard output
       -filter             boolean    Read first file from standard input, write
                                      first file to standard output
       -options            boolean    Prompt for standard and additional values
       -debug              boolean    Write debug output to program.dbg
       -verbose            boolean    Report some/full command line options
       -help               boolean    Report command line options and exit. More
                                      information on associated and general
                                      qualifiers can be found with -help -verbose
       -warning            boolean    Report warnings
       -error              boolean    Report errors
       -fatal              boolean    Report fatal errors
       -die                boolean    Report dying program messages
       -version            boolean    Report version number and exit

Qualifier | Type | Description | Allowed values | Default
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers
[-sequences] (Parameter 1) | seqset | File containing a sequence alignment. | Readable set of sequences | Required
[-outfile] (Parameter 2) | align | Output alignment file name | (default -aformat simple) | <*>.aligncopy
Additional (Optional) qualifiers
-name | string | Name of the alignment | Any string |
-comment | string | Comment on the alignment | Any string |
-append | boolean | This allows you to append the name and comments you have given on to the end of the existing alignment header. | Boolean value Yes/No | No
Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers
(none)
Associated qualifiers
"-sequences" associated seqset qualifiers
-sbegin1 -sbegin_sequences | integer | Start of each sequence to be used | Any integer value | 0
-send1 -send_sequences | integer | End of each sequence to be used | Any integer value | 0
-sreverse1 -sreverse_sequences | boolean | Reverse (if DNA) | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-sask1 -sask_sequences | boolean | Ask for begin/end/reverse | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-snucleotide1 -snucleotide_sequences | boolean | Sequence is nucleotide | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-sprotein1 -sprotein_sequences | boolean | Sequence is protein | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-slower1 -slower_sequences | boolean | Make lower case | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-supper1 -supper_sequences | boolean | Make upper case | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-scircular1 -scircular_sequences | boolean | Sequence is circular | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-sformat1 -sformat_sequences | string | Input sequence format | Any string |
-iquery1 -iquery_sequences | string | Input query fields or ID list | Any string |
-ioffset1 -ioffset_sequences | integer | Input start position offset | Any integer value | 0
-sdbname1 -sdbname_sequences | string | Database name | Any string |
-sid1 -sid_sequences | string | Entryname | Any string |
-ufo1 -ufo_sequences | string | UFO features | Any string |
-fformat1 -fformat_sequences | string | Features format | Any string |
-fopenfile1 -fopenfile_sequences | string | Features file name | Any string |
"-outfile" associated align qualifiers
-aformat2 -aformat_outfile | string | Alignment format | Any string | simple
-aextension2 -aextension_outfile | string | File name extension | Any string |
-adirectory2 -adirectory_outfile | string | Output directory | Any string |
-aname2 -aname_outfile | string | Base file name | Any string |
-awidth2 -awidth_outfile | integer | Alignment width | Any integer value | 0
-aaccshow2 -aaccshow_outfile | boolean | Show accession number in the header | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-adesshow2 -adesshow_outfile | boolean | Show description in the header | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-ausashow2 -ausashow_outfile | boolean | Show the full USA in the alignment | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-aglobal2 -aglobal_outfile | boolean | Show the full sequence in alignment | Boolean value Yes/No | N
General qualifiers
-auto | boolean | Turn off prompts | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-stdout | boolean | Write first file to standard output | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-filter | boolean | Read first file from standard input, write first file to standard output | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-options | boolean | Prompt for standard and additional values | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-debug | boolean | Write debug output to program.dbg | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-verbose | boolean | Report some/full command line options | Boolean value Yes/No | Y
-help | boolean | Report command line options and exit. More information on associated and general qualifiers can be found with -help -verbose | Boolean value Yes/No | N
-warning | boolean | Report warnings | Boolean value Yes/No | Y
-error | boolean | Report errors | Boolean value Yes/No | Y
-fatal | boolean | Report fatal errors | Boolean value Yes/No | Y
-die | boolean | Report dying program messages | Boolean value Yes/No | Y
-version | boolean | Report version number and exit | Boolean value Yes/No | N

## Input file format

aligncopy reads aligned nucleotide or protein sequences.

The input is a standard EMBOSS sequence query (also known as a 'USA').

Major sequence database sources defined as standard in EMBOSS installations include srs:embl, srs:uniprot and ensembl

Data can also be read from sequence output in any supported format written by an EMBOSS or third-party application.

The input format can be specified by using the command-line qualifier `-sformat xxx`, where 'xxx' is replaced by the name of the required format. The available format names are: gff (gff3), gff2, embl (em), genbank (gb, refseq), ddbj, refseqp, pir (nbrf), swissprot (swiss, sw), dasgff and debug.

See: http://emboss.sf.net/docs/themes/SequenceFormats.html for further information on sequence formats.

### Input files for usage example

### File: globins.msf

    !!AA_MULTIPLE_ALIGNMENT 1.0

      ../data/globins.msf MSF:  164 Type: P 25/06/01 CompCheck: 4278 ..

      Name: HBB_HUMAN Len: 164  Check: 6914 Weight: 0.61
      Name: HBB_HORSE Len: 164  Check: 6007 Weight: 0.65
      Name: HBA_HUMAN Len: 164  Check: 3921 Weight: 0.65
      Name: HBA_HORSE Len: 164  Check: 4770 Weight: 0.83
      Name: MYG_PHYCA Len: 164  Check: 7930 Weight: 1.00
      Name: GLB5_PETMA Len: 164  Check: 1857 Weight: 0.91
      Name: LGB2_LUPLU Len: 164  Check: 2879 Weight: 0.43

    //

               1                                               50
    HBB_HUMAN  ~~~~~~~~VHLTPEEKSAVTALWGKVN.VDEVGGEALGR.LLVVYPWTQR
    HBB_HORSE  ~~~~~~~~VQLSGEEKAAVLALWDKVN.EEEVGGEALGR.LLVVYPWTQR
    HBA_HUMAN  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VLSPADKTNVKAA.WGKVGAHAGEYGAEALERMFLS
    HBA_HORSE  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VLSAADKTNVKAA.WSKVGGHAGEYGAEALERMFLG
    MYG_PHYCA  ~~~~~~~VLSEGEWQLVLHVWAKVEAD.VAGHGQDILIR.LFKSHPETLE
    GLB5_PETMA PIVDTGSVAPLSAAEKTKIRSAWAPVYSTYETSGVDILVKFFTSTPAAQE
    LGB2_LUPLU ~~~~~~~~GALTESQAALVKSSWEEFNANIPKHTHRFFILVLEIAPAAKD

               51                                             100
    HBB_HUMAN  FFESFGDLSTPDAVMGNPKVKAHGKKVLGAFSDGLAHLDNLKGTFATLSE
    HBB_HORSE  FFDSFGDLSNPGAVMGNPKVKAHGKKVLHSFGEGVHHLDNLKGTFAALSE
    HBA_HUMAN  FPTTKTYFPHFDLSHGSAQVKGHGKKVADALTNAVAHVDDMPNALSALSD
    HBA_HORSE  FPTTKTYFPHFDLSHGSAQVKAHGKKVGDALTLAVGHLDDLPGALSNLSD
    MYG_PHYCA  KFDRFKHLKTEAEMKASEDLKKHGVTVLTALGAILKKKGHHEAELKPLAQ
    GLB5_PETMA FFPKFKGLTTADQLKKSADVRWHAERIINAVNDAVASMDDTEKMSMKLRD
    LGB2_LUPLU LFSFLKGTSEVPQNNPELQAHAGKVFKLVYEAAIQLQVTGVVVTDATLKN

               101                                            150
    HBB_HUMAN  LHCDKLH..VDPENFRLLGNVLVCVLAHHFGKEFTPPVQAAYQKVVAGVA
    HBB_HORSE  LHCDKLH..VDPENFRLLGNVLVVVLARHFGKDFTPELQASYQKVVAGVA
    HBA_HUMAN  LHAHKLR..VDPVNFKLLSHCLLVTLAAHLPAEFTPAVHASLDKFLASVS
    HBA_HORSE  LHAHKLR..VDPVNFKLLSHCLLSTLAVHLPNDFTPAVHASLDKFLSSVS
    MYG_PHYCA  SHATKHK..IPIKYLEFISEAIIHVLHSRHPGDFGADAQGAMNKALELFR
    GLB5_PETMA LSGKHAK..SFQVDPQYFKVLAAVIADTVAAGDAGFEKLMSMICILLRSA
    LGB2_LUPLU LGSVHVSKGVADAHFPVVKEAILKTIKEVVGAKWSEELNSAWTIAYDELA

               151        164
    HBB_HUMAN  NALAHKYH~~~~~~
    HBB_HORSE  NALAHKYH~~~~~~
    HBA_HUMAN  TVLTSKYR~~~~~~
    HBA_HORSE  TVLTSKYR~~~~~~
    MYG_PHYCA  KDIAAKYKELGYQG
    GLB5_PETMA Y~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    LGB2_LUPLU IVIKKEMNDAA~~~

## Output file format

The output is a standard EMBOSS alignment file.

The results can be output in one of several styles by using the command-line qualifier `-aformat xxx`, where 'xxx' is replaced by the name of the required format. Some of the alignment formats can cope with an unlimited number of sequences, while others are only for pairs of sequences.

The available multiple alignment format names are: multiple, simple, fasta, msf, clustal, mega, meganon, nexus,, nexusnon, phylip, phylipnon, selex, treecon, tcoffee, debug, srs.

The available pairwise alignment format names are: pair, markx0, markx1, markx2, markx3, markx10, match, sam, bam, score, srspair

See: http://emboss.sf.net/docs/themes/AlignFormats.html for further information on alignment formats.

### Output files for usage example

### File: globins.aligncopy

    ########################################
    # Program: aligncopy
    # Rundate: Sun 15 Jul 2012 12:00:00
    # Commandline: aligncopy
    #    -sequences ../../data/globins.msf
    # Align_format: simple
    # Report_file: globins.aligncopy
    ########################################

    #=======================================
    #
    # Aligned_sequences: 7
    # 1: HBB_HUMAN
    # 2: HBB_HORSE
    # 3: HBA_HUMAN
    # 4: HBA_HORSE
    # 5: MYG_PHYCA
    # 6: GLB5_PETMA
    # 7: LGB2_LUPLU
    # Matrix: EBLOSUM62
    #
    # Length: 164
    # Identity:       1/164 ( 0.6%)
    # Similarity:    93/164 (56.7%)
    # Gaps:          31/164 (18.9%)
    #
    #
    #=======================================

    HBB_HUMAN          1 --------VHLTPEEKSAVTALWGKVN-VDEVGGEALGR-LLVVYPWTQR     40
    HBB_HORSE          1 --------VQLSGEEKAAVLALWDKVN-EEEVGGEALGR-LLVVYPWTQR     40
    HBA_HUMAN          1 --------------VLSPADKTNVKAA-WGKVGAHAGEYGAEALERMFLS     35
    HBA_HORSE          1 --------------VLSAADKTNVKAA-WSKVGGHAGEYGAEALERMFLG     35
    MYG_PHYCA          1 -------VLSEGEWQLVLHVWAKVEAD-VAGHGQDILIR-LFKSHPETLE     41
    GLB5_PETMA         1 PIVDTGSVAPLSAAEKTKIRSAWAPVYSTYETSGVDILVKFFTSTPAAQE     50
    LGB2_LUPLU         1 --------GALTESQAALVKSSWEEFNANIPKHTHRFFILVLEIAPAAKD     42
                                   ::  : : :.: : : :   :::: ::   :  : :  :

    HBB_HUMAN         41 FFESFGDLSTPDAVMGNPKVKAHGKKVLGAFSDGLAHLDNLKGTFATLSE     90
    HBB_HORSE         41 FFDSFGDLSNPGAVMGNPKVKAHGKKVLHSFGEGVHHLDNLKGTFAALSE     90
    HBA_HUMAN         36 FPTTKTYFPHFDLSHGSAQVKGHGKKVADALTNAVAHVDDMPNALSALSD     85
    HBA_HORSE         36 FPTTKTYFPHFDLSHGSAQVKAHGKKVGDALTLAVGHLDDLPGALSNLSD     85
    MYG_PHYCA         42 KFDRFKHLKTEAEMKASEDLKKHGVTVLTALGAILKKKGHHEAELKPLAQ     91
    GLB5_PETMA        51 FFPKFKGLTTADQLKKSADVRWHAERIINAVNDAVASMDDTEKMSMKLRD    100
    LGB2_LUPLU        43 LFSFLKGTSEVPQNNPELQAHAGKVFKLVYEAAIQLQVTGVVVTDATLKN     92
                         :: ::  ::  : : :: ::: :::::: :: : : ::::::   : |::

    HBB_HUMAN         91 LHCDKLH--VDPENFRLLGNVLVCVLAHHFGKEFTPPVQAAYQKVVAGVA    138
    HBB_HORSE         91 LHCDKLH--VDPENFRLLGNVLVVVLARHFGKDFTPELQASYQKVVAGVA    138
    HBA_HUMAN         86 LHAHKLR--VDPVNFKLLSHCLLVTLAAHLPAEFTPAVHASLDKFLASVS    133
    HBA_HORSE         86 LHAHKLR--VDPVNFKLLSHCLLSTLAVHLPNDFTPAVHASLDKFLSSVS    133
    MYG_PHYCA         92 SHATKHK--IPIKYLEFISEAIIHVLHSRHPGDFGADAQGAMNKALELFR    139
    GLB5_PETMA       101 LSGKHAK--SFQVDPQYFKVLAAVIADTVAAGDAGFEKLMSMICILLRSA    148
    LGB2_LUPLU        93 LGSVHVSKGVADAHFPVVKEAILKTIKEVVGAKWSEELNSAWTIAYDELA    142
                         ::: :::  ::: ::::: : :: ::: :   :::::: ::: : :: ::

    HBB_HUMAN        139 NALAHKYH------    146
    HBB_HORSE        139 NALAHKYH------    146
    HBA_HUMAN        134 TVLTSKYR------    141
    HBA_HORSE        134 TVLTSKYR------    141
    MYG_PHYCA        140 KDIAAKYKELGYQG    153
    GLB5_PETMA       149 Y-------------    149
    LGB2_LUPLU       143 IVIKKEMNDAA---    153
                           :  ::

    #---------------------------------------
    #---------------------------------------

## Data files

For protein sequences EBLOSUM62 is used for the substitution matrix. For nucleotide sequence, EDNAFULL is used.

EMBOSS data files are distributed with the application and stored in the standard EMBOSS data directory, which is defined by the EMBOSS environment variable EMBOSS_DATA.

To see the available EMBOSS data files, run:

    % embossdata -showall

To fetch one of the data files (for example 'Exxx.dat') into your current directory for you to inspect or modify, run:

    % embossdata -fetch -file Exxx.dat

Users can provide their own data files in their own directories. Project specific files can be put in the current directory, or for tidier directory listings in a subdirectory called ".embossdata". Files for all EMBOSS runs can be put in the user's home directory, or again in a subdirectory called ".embossdata".

The directories are searched in the following order:

- . (your current directory)
- .embossdata (under your current directory)
- ~/ (your home directory)
- ~/.embossdata

## Notes

None.

## References

None.

## Warnings

None.

## Diagnostic Error Messages

None.

## Exit status

It always exits with status 0.

## Known bugs

None.

## See also

Program name | Description
--- | ---
aligncopypair | Read and write pairs from alignments
biosed | Replace or delete sequence sections
codcopy | Copy and reformat a codon usage table
cutseq | Remove a section from a sequence
degapseq | Remove non-alphabetic (e.g. gap) characters from sequences
descseq | Alter the name or description of a sequence
entret | Retrieve sequence entries from flatfile databases and files
extractalign | Extract regions from a sequence alignment
extractfeat | Extract features from sequence(s)
extractseq | Extract regions from a sequence
featcopy | Read and write a feature table
featmerge | Merge two overlapping feature tables
featreport | Read and write a feature table
feattext | Return a feature table original text
listor | Write a list file of the logical OR of two sets of sequences
makenucseq | Create random nucleotide sequences
makeprotseq | Create random protein sequences
maskambignuc | Mask all ambiguity characters in nucleotide sequences with N
maskambigprot | Mask all ambiguity characters in protein sequences with X
maskfeat | Write a sequence with masked features
maskseq | Write a sequence with masked regions
newseq | Create a sequence file from a typed-in sequence
nohtml | Remove mark-up (e.g. HTML tags) from an ASCII text file
noreturn | Remove carriage return from ASCII files
nospace | Remove whitespace from an ASCII text file
notab | Replace tabs with spaces in an ASCII text file
notseq | Write to file a subset of an input stream of sequences
nthseq | Write to file a single sequence from an input stream of sequences
nthseqset | Read and write (return) one set of sequences from many
pasteseq | Insert one sequence into another
revseq | Reverse and complement a nucleotide sequence
seqcount | Read and count sequences
seqret | Read and write (return) sequences
seqretsetall | Read and write (return) many sets of sequences
seqretsplit | Read sequences and write them to individual files
sizeseq | Sort sequences by size
skipredundant | Remove redundant sequences from an input set
skipseq | Read and write (return) sequences, skipping first few
splitsource | Split sequence(s) into original source sequences
splitter | Split sequence(s) into smaller sequences
trimest | Remove poly-A tails from nucleotide sequences
trimseq | Remove unwanted characters from start and end of sequence(s)
trimspace | Remove extra whitespace from an ASCII text file
union | Concatenate multiple sequences into a single sequence
vectorstrip | Remove vectors from the ends of nucleotide sequence(s)
yank | Add a sequence reference (a full USA) to a list file

## Author(s)

Jon Ison
European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK

Please report all bugs to the EMBOSS bug team (emboss-bug © emboss.open-bio.org) not to the original author.

## History

## Target users

This program is intended to be used by everyone and everything, from naive users to embedded scripts.

## Comments

None