Species abundance estimation using Bracken with Kraken2 output. Redistributes reads from higher taxonomic levels to species for more accurate estimates. Use when accurate species-level abundances are needed from Kraken2 classification output.
npx skills add https://github.com/BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill bio-metagenomics-abundance
Reference examples tested with: Bracken 2.9+, Kraken2 2.1+, MetaPhlAn 4.1+, pandas 2.2+
Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
pip show <package> then help(module.function) to check signatures<tool> --version then <tool> --help to confirm flagsIf code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed
package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.
"Get species-level abundances from my Kraken2 results" → Redistribute reads assigned to higher taxonomic levels down to species using Bracken's Bayesian re-estimation for more accurate abundance profiles.
bracken -d db -i kraken2.report -o bracken.output -r 150 -l S# Run Bracken on Kraken2 report
bracken -d /path/to/kraken2_db \
-i kraken_report.txt \
-o bracken_output.txt \
-r 150 \ # Read length (100, 150, 200, 250, 300)
-l S # Taxonomic level
# Step 1: Classify with Kraken2
kraken2 --db /path/to/kraken2_db \
--threads 8 \
--paired \
--report sample_kraken_report.txt \
reads_R1.fastq.gz reads_R2.fastq.gz
# Step 2: Estimate abundances with Bracken
bracken -d /path/to/kraken2_db \
-i sample_kraken_report.txt \
-o sample_bracken_species.txt \
-w sample_bracken_report.txt \
-r 150 \
-l S
# Species level (default)
bracken -d db -i report.txt -o species.txt -r 150 -l S
# Genus level
bracken -d db -i report.txt -o genus.txt -r 150 -l G
# Family level
bracken -d db -i report.txt -o family.txt -r 150 -l F
# Phylum level
bracken -d db -i report.txt -o phylum.txt -r 150 -l P
# Build Bracken database for specific read lengths
# Run AFTER building Kraken2 database
bracken-build -d /path/to/kraken2_db -t 8 -l 150
# Build for multiple read lengths
bracken-build -d /path/to/kraken2_db -t 8 -l 100
bracken-build -d /path/to/kraken2_db -t 8 -l 250
name taxonomy_id taxonomy_lvl kraken_assigned_reads added_reads new_est_reads fraction_total_reads
Escherichia coli 562 S 5234 1245 6479 0.52
Staphylococcus aureus 1280 S 2156 456 2612 0.21
# Use threshold for minimum reads
bracken -d db \
-i report.txt \
-o bracken.txt \
-r 150 \
-l S \
-t 10 # Minimum reads threshold
# Run Bracken on each sample
for report in kraken_reports/*.txt; do
sample=$(basename $report _kraken_report.txt)
bracken -d db -i $report -o bracken/${sample}_species.txt -r 150 -l S
done
# Combine into abundance matrix
combine_bracken_outputs.py --files bracken/*_species.txt -o combined_abundance.txt
import pandas as pd
bracken = pd.read_csv('bracken_output.txt', sep='\t')
bracken_sorted = bracken.sort_values('new_est_reads', ascending=False)
bracken_sorted[['name', 'fraction_total_reads']].head(20)
total_reads = bracken['new_est_reads'].sum()
bracken['relative_abundance'] = bracken['new_est_reads'] / total_reads * 100
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('bracken_output.txt', sep='\t')
total = df['new_est_reads'].sum()
df['relative_abundance'] = df['new_est_reads'] / total * 100
df.to_csv('bracken_relative_abundance.txt', sep='\t', index=False)
Goal: Merge per-sample Bracken outputs into a single species-by-sample abundance matrix for downstream statistical analysis.
Approach: Load each Bracken output, extract species names and read counts, iteratively outer-merge on species name, and fill missing values with zero.
import pandas as pd
import os
files = [f for f in os.listdir('bracken') if f.endswith('_species.txt')]
dfs = []
for f in files:
sample = f.replace('_species.txt', '')
df = pd.read_csv(f'bracken/{f}', sep='\t')
df = df[['name', 'new_est_reads']].rename(columns={'new_est_reads': sample})
dfs.append(df)
merged = dfs[0]
for df in dfs[1:]:
merged = merged.merge(df, on='name', how='outer')
merged = merged.fillna(0)
merged.to_csv('abundance_matrix.txt', sep='\t', index=False)
| Parameter | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| -d | Kraken2 database path |
| -i | Input Kraken2 report |
| -o | Output abundance file |
| -w | Output updated report (optional) |
| -r | Read length used |
| -l | Taxonomic level |
| -t | Minimum read threshold |
| Level | Code | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| Kingdom | K | Bacteria, Archaea |
| Phylum | P | Major divisions |
| Class | C | Class level |
| Order | O | Order level |
| Family | F | Family level |
| Genus | G | Genus level |
| Species | S | Species level |
Pre-built databases typically include: 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 bp
Choose the length closest to your actual read length.
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Take biotender-max/bio-metagenomics-abundance from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
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