$npx -y skills add GPTomics/bioSkills --skill splicing-quantificationQuantifies alternative splicing as PSI (percent spliced in) from RNA-seq using rMATS-turbo (BAM-based event), SUPPA2 (TPM-based event), MAJIQ V3 (LSV-based Bayesian), leafcutter (annotation-free intron clusters), VAST-TOOLS (cross-species with microexon support), Shiba (junction-
| 1 | ## Version Compatibility |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Reference examples tested with: rMATS-turbo 4.3+, SUPPA2 2.4+, leafcutter 0.2.9+, MAJIQ 3.0+, IRFinder-S 2.0+, kallisto 0.50+, Salmon 1.10+, pandas 2.2+, STAR 2.7.11+ |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ: |
| 6 | - Python: `pip show <package>` then `help(module.function)` to check signatures |
| 7 | - R: `packageVersion('<pkg>')` then `?function_name` to verify parameters |
| 8 | - CLI: `<tool> --version` then `<tool> --help` to confirm flags |
| 9 | |
| 10 | If code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed |
| 11 | package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | # Splicing Quantification |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Quantify alternative splicing events as PSI (percent spliced in) from RNA-seq. PSI = inclusion read evidence / (inclusion + skipping read evidence), normalized for differential mapping opportunity between isoforms. The choice of *quantification unit* (event, intron cluster, LSV, transcript) determines which biological questions can be answered and which failure modes apply. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ## Algorithmic Taxonomy |
| 18 | |
| 19 | | Family | Unit | Reference tools | Fails when | |
| 20 | |--------|------|-----------------|------------| |
| 21 | | Event-based | Pre-defined SE/A5SS/A3SS/MXE/RI events from annotation | rMATS-turbo, SUPPA2, VAST-TOOLS | Event isn't in annotation; complex multi-junction events split arbitrarily; AFE/ALE confounded with splicing | |
| 22 | | LSV-based | Local Splice Variations at single source/target nodes | MAJIQ V3 | Memory-constrained environments; cohorts smaller than ~3 reps; non-academic users (license) | |
| 23 | | Junction-cluster | Annotation-free intron clusters by shared splice sites | leafcutter, leafcutter2 | Undersampled clusters lose power; topology biologically uninterpretable for novel events | |
| 24 | | Splice-graph | Graph nodes (non-overlapping exonic regions) | Whippet, Shiba | Whippet maintenance status uncertain since ~2022; complex multi-exon graphs | |
| 25 | | Coverage-aware (IR) | Intron body coverage + flanking junctions | IRFinder-S, S-IRFindeR, iREAD | Confounded by overlapping exons, repeats, low mappability regions | |
| 26 | | Isoform-based | Transcript abundance via EM | Salmon/kallisto + tximport | Salmon EM uncertainty propagates; many similar isoforms (TTN, MAPT) become indistinguishable | |
| 27 | |
| 28 | The agent's first decision is **which family** the question requires, not which tool. Switching family is the response to a tool failing within a family — switching tool within a family rarely fixes systematic blind spots. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | ## Event Taxonomy (Beyond Standard SE/A5SS/A3SS/MXE/RI) |
| 31 | |
| 32 | | Class | Code | Biology | Detection caveat | |
| 33 | |-------|------|---------|-------------------| |
| 34 | | Skipped exon (cassette) | SE | Default cassette-exon AS | Most common; well-handled by all tools | |
| 35 | | Alternative 5' splice site | A5SS | Alternative donor; intron 5' end varies | Sign convention tool-specific (see below) | |
| 36 | | Alternative 3' splice site | A3SS | Alternative acceptor; intron 3' end varies | Sensitive to BPS cancer mutations (SF3B1) — cryptic 3'ss ~10-30nt upstream | |
| 37 | | Mutually exclusive exons | MXE | Two exons paired, one included | Tool implementations vary; verify which "form 1" is yours | |
| 38 | | Retained intron | RI | Whole intron retained in mature mRNA | Junction-only quant systematically underdetects; needs IRFinder-S | |
| 39 | | **Microexon** | (sub-SE) | 3-27 nt; neural-enriched, SRRM4-regulated | Missed by default aligner anchor lengths (>=20-30 nt); needs VAST-TOOLS, MicroExonator, or long-read | |
| 40 | | **Exitron** | n/a | Intronic region within an annotated CDS exon | Mis-classified as A5SS/A3SS by most tools; use ExitronFinder, ScanExitron | |
| 41 | | **Alternative first exon (AFE)** | AFE | Alternative TSS / promoter use | Promoter-driven, NOT spliceosomal; confirm with FANTOM CAGE before reporting as splicing | |
| 42 | | **Alternative last exon (ALE)** | ALE | Alternative cleavage/polyadenylation | APA-driven, NOT spliceosomal; confirm with 3'-end-seq | |
| 43 | | **Detained intron (DI)** | (RI subtype) | Nuclear-retained on mature mRNA, regulated by Clk kinases | Distinct from cytoplasmic NMD-targeted RI (Boutz 2015 *Genes Dev*); requires fractionation to confirm | |
| 44 | | **Recursive splicing** | (intron subtype) | Long introns >50kb spliced via inter |