rTASSEL: An R interface to TASSEL for analyzing genomicdiversity

Abstract

The need for efficient tools and applications for analyzing genomic diversity is essential for any genetics research or breeding program. One commonly used tool, TASSEL (Trait Analysis by aSSociation, Evolution, and Linkage), provides many core methods for genomic analyses. Despite its efficiency, TASSEL has limited automation potential for reproducible research and to interact with other analytical tools. Here we present an R package, rTASSEL, that is a front-end to connect to a variety of highly used TASSEL methods and analytical tools. The goal of this package is to create a unified scripting workflow that leverages the analytical prowess of TASSEL, in conjunction with R's data handling and visualization capabilities, without ever having the user switch between these two environments.