Using VarScan 2 for Germline Variant Calling and Somatic Mutation Detection

Abstract

The identification of small sequence variants remains a challenging but critical step in the analysis of next-generation sequencing data. Our variant calling tool, VarScan 2, employs heuristic and statistic thresholds based on user-defined criteria to call variants using SAMtools mpileup data as input. Here, we provide guidelines for generating that input, and describe protocols for using VarScan 2 to (1) identify germline variants in individual samples; (2) call somatic mutations, copy number alterations, and LOH events in tumor-normal pairs; and (3) identify germline variants, de novo mutations, and Mendelian inheritance errors in family trios. Further, we describe a strategy for variant filtering that removes likely false positives associated with common sequencing- and alignment-related artifacts.