SOAPTyping: an open-source and cross-platform tool for Sanger sequence-based typing for HLA class I and II alleles

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene family plays a key role in the immune response and thus is crucial in many biomedical and clinical settings. Utilizing Sanger sequencing - the gold standard technology for HLA typing – enables accurate identification of HLA alleles with high-resolution. However, there exists a current hurdle that only commercial software such as UType, SBT-Assign, and SBTEngine, instead of any open source tools could be applied to perform HLA typing based on Sanger sequencing. To fill the gap, a stand-alone, open-source and cross-platform software, known as SOAPTyping, was developed by us for Sanger-based typing in HLA class I and II alleles.