visualise_single_sequence: Visualise a single DNA/RNA sequence

In ggDNAvis: 'ggplot2'-Based Tools for Visualising DNA Sequences and Modifications

Visualise a single DNA/RNA sequence

Description

This function takes a DNA/RNA sequence and returns a ggplot visualising it, with the option to directly export a png image with appropriate dimensions. Colours, line wrapping, index annotation interval, and pixels per square when exported are configurable.

Usage

visualise_single_sequence(
  sequence,
  sequence_colours = sequence_colour_palettes$ggplot_style,
  background_colour = "white",
  line_wrapping = 75,
  spacing = 1,
  margin = 0.5,
  sequence_text_colour = "black",
  sequence_text_size = 16,
  index_annotation_colour = "darkred",
  index_annotation_size = 12.5,
  index_annotation_interval = 15,
  index_annotations_above = TRUE,
  index_annotation_vertical_position = 1/3,
  outline_colour = "black",
  outline_linewidth = 3,
  outline_join = "mitre",
  return = TRUE,
  filename = NA,
  render_device = ragg::agg_png,
  pixels_per_base = 100
)

Arguments

sequence	character. A DNA or RNA sequence to visualise e.g. "AAATGCTGC".
sequence_colours	⁠character vector⁠, length 4. A vector indicating which colours should be used for each base. In order: c(A_colour, C_colour, G_colour, T/U_colour). Defaults to red, green, blue, purple in the default shades produced by ggplot with 4 colours, i.e. c("#F8766D", "#7CAE00", "#00BFC4", "#C77CFF"), accessed via sequence_colour_palettes⁠$ggplot_style⁠.
background_colour	character. The colour of the background. Defaults to white.
line_wrapping	integer. The number of bases that should be on each line before wrapping. Defaults to 75. Recommended to make this a multiple of the repeat unit size (e.g. 3n for a trinucleotide repeat) if visualising a repeat sequence.
spacing	integer. The number of blank lines between each line of sequence. Defaults to 1. Be careful when setting to 0 as this means annotations have no space so might render strangely. Recommended to set index_annotation_interval = 0 if doing so to disable annotations entirely.
margin	numeric. The size of the margin relative to the size of each base square. Defaults to 0.5 (half the side length of each base square). Note that if index annotations are on (i.e. index_annotation_interval is not 0), the top/bottom margin (depending on index_annotations_above) will always be at least 1 to leave space for them. Likewise, very small margins (\le0.25) may cause thick outlines to be cut off at the edges of the plot. Recommended to either use a wider margin or a smaller outline_linewidth.
sequence_text_colour	character. The colour of the text within the bases (e.g. colour of "A" letter within boxes representing adenosine bases). Defaults to black.
sequence_text_size	numeric. The size of the text within the bases (e.g. size of "A" letter within boxes representing adenosine bases). Defaults to 16. Set to 0 to hide sequence text (show box colours only).
index_annotation_colour	character. The colour of the little numbers underneath indicating base index (e.g. colour "15" label under the 15th base). Defaults to dark red.
index_annotation_size	numeric. The size of the little number underneath indicating base index (e.g. size of "15" label under the 15th base). Defaults to 12.5. Can sometimes be set to 0 to turn off annotations, but it is better/more reliable to do this via index_annotation_interval = 0.
index_annotation_interval	integer. The frequency at which numbers should be placed underneath indicating base index, starting counting from the leftmost base in each row. Defaults to 15 (every 15 bases along each row). Recommended to make this a factor/divisor of the line wrapping length (meaning the final base in each line is annotated), otherwise the numbering interval resetting at the beginning of each row will result in uneven intervals at each line break. Set to 0 to turn off annotations (preferable over using index_annotation_size = 0).
index_annotations_above	logical. Whether index annotations should go above (TRUE, default) or below (FALSE) each line of sequence.
index_annotation_vertical_position	numeric. How far annotation numbers should be rendered above (if index_annotations_above = TRUE) or below (if index_annotations_above = FALSE) each base. Defaults to 1/3. Not recommended to change at all. Strongly discouraged to set below 0 or above 1.
outline_colour	character. The colour of the box outlines. Defaults to black.
outline_linewidth	numeric. The linewidth of the box outlines. Defaults to 3. Set to 0 to disable box outlines.
outline_join	character. One of "mitre", "round", or "bevel" specifying how outlines should be joined at the corners of boxes. Defaults to "mitre". It would be unusual to need to change this.
return	logical. Boolean specifying whether this function should return the ggplot object, otherwise it will return invisible(NULL). Defaults to TRUE.
filename	character. Filename to which output should be saved. If set to NA (default), no file will be saved. Recommended to end with ".png", but can change if render device is changed.
render_device	⁠function/character⁠. Device to use when rendering. See ggplot2::ggsave() documentation for options. Defaults to ragg::agg_png. Can be set to NULL to infer from file extension, but results may vary between systems.
pixels_per_base	integer. How large each box should be in pixels, if file output is turned on via setting filename. Corresponds to dpi of the exported image. Large values recommended because text needs to be legible when rendered significantly smaller than a box. Defaults to 100.

Value

A ggplot object containing the full visualisation, or invisible(NULL) if return = FALSE. It is often more useful to use filename = "myfilename.png", because then the visualisation is exported at the correct aspect ratio.

Examples

## Create sequence to visualise
sequence <- paste(c(rep("GGC", 72), rep("GGAGGAGGCGGC", 15)), collapse = "")

## Visualise with all defaults
## This looks ugly because it isn't at the right scale/aspect ratio
visualise_single_sequence(sequence)

## Export with all defaults rather than returning
visualise_single_sequence(
    sequence,
    filename = "example_vss_01.png",
    return = FALSE
)
## View exported image
image <- png::readPNG("example_vss_01.png")
unlink("example_vss_01.png")
grid::grid.newpage()
grid::grid.raster(image)

## Export while customising appearance
visualise_single_sequence(
    sequence,
    filename = "example_vss_02.png",
    return = FALSE,
    sequence_colours = sequence_colour_palettes$bright_pale,
    sequence_text_colour = "white",
    background_colour = "lightgrey",
    line_wrapping = 60,
    spacing = 2,
    outline_linewidth = 0,
    index_annotations_above = FALSE,
    margin = 0
)
## View exported image
image <- png::readPNG("example_vss_02.png")
unlink("example_vss_02.png")
grid::grid.newpage()
grid::grid.raster(image)

ggDNAvis documentation built on Nov. 5, 2025, 7:36 p.m.