MACS2 default q-value different in README vs using MACS2

[rebeccawh]

MACS2 is wonderful, thank-you for it. I hope it becomes a paper to be referenced at some point.

I've only just noticed that while the README says the default q-vlaue is 0.01, that in the MACS2 (2.1.0) output the default q-value is 0.05. The README indicates that 0.01 is good for strong peaks, while the 0.05 is more for broad/weaker peaks. Yet I found the output of someone asking a question about MACS2 and MACS2's output said the opposite.
# qvalue cutoff for narrow/strong regions = 5.00e-02
# qvalue cutoff for broad/weak regions = 1.00e-02

I am now rather unsure whether I have been processing all my DNase-seq and ATAC-seq with the wrong q-value or the right one. The choice of q-value has quite an impact on the regions that are reported.

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Also, I was wondering if it was possible to report more decimal places for the q-value or p-value. I've been trying to use IDR with MACS2 and I am wondering if the large number of ties due to only 5 decimal places is causing some problems.

thank-you for any advice on this,
Rebecca

[IanCodes]

There is at least one article, but it is behind a paywall: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24743991

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On 10 April 2017 at 09:27, rebeccawh ***@***.***> wrote: MACS2 is wonderful, thank-you for it. I hope it becomes a paper to be referenced at some point. I've only just noticed that while the README says the default q-vlaue is 0.01, that in the MACS2 output the default q-value is 0.05. The README indicates that 0.01 is good for strong peaks, while the 0.05 is more for broad/weaker peaks. Yet I found the output of someone asking a question about MACS2 and MACS2's output said the opposite. # qvalue cutoff for narrow/strong regions = 5.00e-02 # qvalue cutoff for broad/weak regions = 1.00e-02 I am now rather unsure whether I have been processing all my DNase-seq and ATAC-seq with the wrong q-value or the right one. The choice of q-value has quite an impact on the regions that are reported. ------------------------------ Also, I was wondering if it was possible to report more decimal places for the q-value or p-value. I've been trying to use IDR with MACS2 and I am wondering if the large number of ties due to only 5 decimal places is causing some problems. thank-you for any advice on this, Rebecca — You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#184>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJWJPAkwsOaQl0MjmPiacamzgMFkISUQks5ruefUgaJpZM4M4dzT> .

[rebeccawh]

Thank-you but I don't have access to the MACS paper you linked. Also a number of things changed in MACS relative to MACS2 and I believe threshold was one. Additionally, what I wrote above about qval < 0.01 vs. qval < 0.05 is contradictory within MACS2 itself i.e. within the MACS2 README vs the output of MACS2.

[taoliu]

@rebeccawh The default is q=0.05. I haven't carefully edited MACS2 README file. The output from command line is the actual parameter. You can also confirm the parameters from MACS2 running message or the header of xls file.