modbamtools: A platform for analysis and visualization of single molecule epigenetic data

The advent of long-read sequencing methods provides new opportunities for profiling the epigenome - especially as the methylation signature comes for “free” when DNA is sequenced on either PacBio or Oxford Nanopore. However, we lack the tools to visualize and analyze data generated from these new sources. Recent efforts from the GA4GH consortium have standardized methods to encode modification location and call probabilities in the BAM format. Leveraging this standard format, we developed a technology-agnostic tool, modbamtools to visualize, manipulate and compare base modification/methylation data in a fast and robust way. modbamtools can produce high quality, interactive, and publication-ready visualizations as well as provide modules for downstream analysis of base modifications.