Tskit 1.0: a framework for efficient ARG analysis
Event
CASUAL SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION
November 11th, 2025
Yan Wong, University of Oxford | 15h00 | Hybrid Seminar

CASUAL SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION
Ancestral Recombination Graphs, or ARGs, a generalization of phylogenies with recombination, are becoming increasingly central to population genetics. I will outline the tskit software library for ARG storage and analysis, which permits integration of the popular msprime and SLiM simulators, and forms the backbone of the standard library of population genetic simulations (stdpopsim). Tskit is designed from the ground up to enable megascale genomics, providing efficient analysis tools for thousands or millions of whole genome sequences. Using examples from recent publications, I will showcase how tskit can be used for genetic analysis, as well as development of bespoke genetic algorithms, and how we are using it to infer genealogies from genome-scale data. I will conclude by discussing future plans and directions for tskit.
Yan Wong is an evolutionary geneticist at the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford. His current research revolves around methods for representing and analysing genetic genealogies with recombination, especially for large genomic datasets, in a variety of species (see www.tskit.dev). He is also deeply involved in an online fractal visualization of the tree of life (www.onezoom.org), and has extensive experience in science communication, being the coauthor of The Ancestor’s Tale with Richard Dawkins, and has been a science presenter on BBC TV and radio shows.
[Host: Rui Faria, Seascape Genomics & Speciation - SEAGEN]