<p>According to <a href="http://pacbiofileformats.readthedocs.io/en/5.0/BAM.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PacBio Sequel BAM format manual</a>, you can find information on the <a href="https://www.pacb.com/blog/new-chemistry-software-sequel-system-improve-read-length-lower-project-costs/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">chemistry version</a> in the header entries <code>@RG</code> (read group), tag <code>DS</code> (description), entry <code>BASECALLERVERSION</code> . </p>

<p>In case of future very PacBio-specific questions, you can contact Liz Tseng on Twitter (@magdoll), one of the most responsive PacBio developers. They also have a <a href="http://seqanswers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39" rel="nofollow noreferrer">dedicated SeqAnswers forum</a>, which is directly monitored by them and you are very likely to get a fast and accurate answer. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-09T18:44:04.533Z
I have 5.0.0.6236 for BASECALLERVERSION. Does it mean chemistry P5-C3 was used?
Biomagician
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-12T21:21:55.057Z
This surely means chemistry is higher than P4-C2 / 2.0, which is not supported in pbbam. The logical answer would be then yes, P5-C3 chemistry (or higher) was used.
aechchiki
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-09T16:15:01.133Z
2018-02-09T16:15:01.133Z
aechchiki
<p>Is it possible to find out the PacBio chemistry from the PacBio Sequel BAM's header? E.g. whether it was produced with P5-C3 or P6-C4? I checked mine but I haven't found it but maybe it's hidden in one of the tags whose meaning I don't know yet, like SEQUENCINGKIT=100-861-800?</p>

<sam><pacbio>
Is it possible to find out the PacBio chemistry from the PacBio Sequel BAM's header?
# Is it possible to find out the PacBio chemistry from the PacBio Sequel BAM's header?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-08)

Is it possible to find out the PacBio chemistry from the PacBio Sequel BAM's header? E.g. whether it was produced with P5-C3 or P6-C4? I checked mine but I haven't found it but maybe it's hidden in one of the tags whose meaning I don't know yet, like SEQUENCINGKIT=100-861-800?

**Tags:** sam, pacbio

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-02-09. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

According to [PacBio Sequel BAM format manual](http://pacbiofileformats.readthedocs.io/en/5.0/BAM.html), you can find information on the [chemistry version](https://www.pacb.com/blog/new-chemistry-software-sequel-system-improve-read-length-lower-project-costs/) in the header entries `@RG` (read group), tag `DS` (description), entry `BASECALLERVERSION` .

In case of future very PacBio-specific questions, you can contact Liz Tseng on Twitter (@magdoll), one of the most responsive PacBio developers. They also have a [dedicated SeqAnswers forum](http://seqanswers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39), which is directly monitored by them and you are very likely to get a fast and accurate answer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I have 5.0.0.6236 for BASECALLERVERSION. Does it mean chemistry P5-C3 was used?  
> **username_1**: This surely means chemistry is higher than P4-C2 / 2.0, which is not supported in pbbam. The logical answer would be then yes, P5-C3 chemistry (or higher) was used.  

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