Every version of IGB contains a copy of a file named species.txt that maps scientific names for species onto common names and an IGB-friendly genome version prefix.

This is a tab-delimited file with the following data:

• Column 1: scientific (Latin) name for an organism
• Column 2: common name for the organism
• Column 3: IGB-friendly  genome version name prefix (e.g., H_sapiens, O_sativa_japonica, or C_sativa_CBDRx)
• Column 4, 5, etc. (optional): Genome version name prefixes used by Galaxy, UCSC Genome Bioinformatics, or other data providers

IGB uses these data to populate the Species menu in the Current Genome tab. It also uses these data to associate species with genome assemblies. This is why the species.txt file also lists the IGB-friendly genome version prefix in the file in column 3. Because many data providers also use common prefixes to indicate genome versions for a species, we also include those whenever possible.

When IGB accesses a QuickLoad site, it tries to retrieve an optional, supplemental species.txt file from the QuickLoad root directory. If the file is available, IGB reads the file and adds any new species to the Species menu.

The species.txt file that is distributed with IGB is version-controlled as part of the IGB source code repository. To see the latest version of this file, go to https://bitbucket.org/lorainelab/integrated-genome-browser, select the source button, and navigate to the resources folder as shown below.

How to make a species.txt file for a QuickLoad site

First check to see if your species and genome version prefixes are alread present in the species.txt file. If they are, then you do not need to distribute a species.txt file with your QuickLoad site. If not, then to make a species.txt file for a QuickLoad site:

• Open an editor (Microsoft Word is fine, but you'll need to save the file as a plain text (.txt) file.)
• Type the Latin name for the species, including subspecies or cultivar designations if appropriate (e.g., Zea mays B73).
• Type TAB
• Type the common name for the species (e.g., maize)
• Type TAB
• Type the IGB genome version prefix you'll use for every genome assembly from this species (e.g., Z_mays_B73)
• Type TAB
• Type the Galaxy/UCSC genome version prefix, if available. You only need to do this if the genome version is supported by Galaxy and UCSC and you would like to use open files and data from Galaxy in IGB.
• Repeat the previous steps for all new species you'd like to include in your QuickLoad site.
• Save the file as plain text.
• Place the file in the root directory of your QuickLoad site.