| name | jgi-lakehouse |
| description | Queries JGI Lakehouse (Dremio) for genomics metadata from GOLD, IMG, Mycocosm, Phytozome. Downloads genome files from JGI filesystem using IMG taxon OIDs and links JGI taxon OIDs to read files through PMO/GOLD identifiers and JAMO. Use when working with JGI data, GOLD projects, IMG annotations, or downloading genomes. |
JGI Lakehouse Skill
Quick Start
What is it? JGI's unified data warehouse (651 tables) + filesystem access to genome files.
Two data access methods:
- Lakehouse (Dremio) โ Metadata, annotations, taxonomy (no sequences)
- JGI Filesystem โ Actual genome files (FNA, FAA, GFF) via taxon OID
SQL Dialect: ANSI SQL (not PostgreSQL)
- Use
CAST(x AS type) not ::
- Use
REGEXP_LIKE() not ~
- Identifiers with dashes need double quotes:
"gold-db-2 postgresql"
SELECT gold_id, project_name FROM "gold-db-2 postgresql".gold.project
WHERE is_public = 'Yes' LIMIT 5;
When to Use
- Query JGI genomics metadata (GOLD, IMG, Mycocosm, Phytozome)
- Find genomes and/or metagenomes by taxonomy, ecosystem, or phenotype.
- Download microbial genomes with IMG taxon OIDs
- Cross-reference GOLD projects with IMG annotations
Best practices
- When reporting results from database queries, always provide a clear summary of the exact criteria that were used for filtering. This should include a list of each field that was used in the query/filter, and the query/filter was applied (string used in exact match, regular expression, exact number searched for or range, etc)
Data Access: Lakehouse vs Filesystem
| Need | Source | Access Method |
|---|
| Metadata (taxonomy, projects) | Lakehouse | SQL via REST API |
| Gene annotations (COG, Pfam, KO) | Lakehouse | SQL via REST API |
| Genome sequences (FNA) | JGI Filesystem | Copy from /clusterfs/jgi/img_merfs-ro/ |
| Protein sequences (FAA) | JGI Filesystem | Copy from /clusterfs/jgi/img_merfs-ro/ |
| Metagenome proteins only | Lakehouse | numg-iceberg.faa table |
Critical insight: The Lakehouse is a METADATA warehouse. Genome sequences must be accessed from the JGI filesystem.
Key Data Sources
| Source | Path | Contents |
|---|
| GOLD | "gold-db-2 postgresql".gold.* | Projects, studies, samples, taxonomy |
| IMG | "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.* | Taxons, genes, annotations (244 tables) |
| Portal | "portal-db-1".portal.* | Download tracking, file paths |
| Mycocosm | "myco-db-1 mysql".<organism>.* | Fungal genomes (2,711 schemas) |
| Phytozome | "plant-db-7 postgresql".* | Plant genomics โ see docs/phytozome.md |
| NUMG | "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".* | Metagenome proteins, Pfam hits |
Full table catalog: See docs/data-catalog.md
Phytozome (plant-db-7 / plant-db-4): Read docs/phytozome.md before writing any queries against these sources.
NUMG (Metagenome Proteins) Agent Workflow
Use NUMG when the task is metagenome protein sequence/domain analysis.
Scope rules:
numg-iceberg is metagenome-focused.
- Do not use NUMG for isolate genome protein retrieval; use IMG filesystem packages.
Core tables:
"numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".faa
oid, gene_oid, faa (protein sequence)
"numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".gene2pfam
oid, gene_oid, pfam, evalue, alignment coordinate fields
Recommended query flow:
SHOW TABLES IN "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg";
DESCRIBE "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".faa;
DESCRIBE "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".gene2pfam;
SELECT oid, gene_oid, pfam, evalue
FROM "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".gene2pfam
WHERE pfam IN ('pfam00001', 'pfam00004')
LIMIT 100;
SELECT
p.oid,
p.gene_oid,
p.pfam,
p.evalue,
f.faa
FROM "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".gene2pfam p
JOIN "numg-iceberg"."numg-iceberg".faa f
ON p.oid = f.oid
AND p.gene_oid = f.gene_oid
WHERE p.pfam = 'pfam00001'
LIMIT 100;
Important NUMG rules:
- Join on both
oid and gene_oid (not gene_oid alone).
- Keep Pfam filters exact (
pfam00001, not case-transformed).
- Always start with
LIMIT and expand only after verifying row shape.
See also: examples/05-query-numg-metagenome-proteins.md
Downloading Genomes with IMG Taxon OIDs
Option 1: JGI Filesystem (Fastest)
/clusterfs/jgi/img_merfs-ro/img_web/img_web_data/download/{taxon_oid}.tar.gz
cp /clusterfs/jgi/img_merfs-ro/img_web/img_web_data/download/8136918376.tar.gz .
tar -xzf 8136918376.tar.gz
Package contents:
{taxon_oid}.fna - Genome assembly
{taxon_oid}.genes.faa - Protein sequences
{taxon_oid}.genes.fna - Gene nucleotide sequences
{taxon_oid}.gff - GFF annotations
{taxon_oid}.cog.tab.txt - COG annotations
{taxon_oid}.pfam.tab.txt - Pfam annotations
{taxon_oid}.ko.tab.txt - KEGG KO annotations
Linking Assemblies To Reads
Use this workflow when you need to go from an IMG metagenome assembly to the underlying JGI reads.
1. Start from the assembly taxon OID
Assemblies live under:
/clusterfs/jgi/img_merfs-ro/img_web_data_merfs/{taxon_oid}/assembled/
2. Pull the JGI/GOLD linkage fields from metadata
For a metagenome taxon OID, the most useful linkage fields are:
img_jgi_project_id
sequencing_gold_id
sample_gold_id
study_gold_id
gold_project_id
gold_pmo_project_id
gold_its_spid
In practice, img_jgi_project_id is often the strongest key for JAMO because it behaves like the PMO project identifier used by jamo info ... pmoid.
3. Prefer JAMO pmoid for JGI read lookup
Native JAMO lookup types are listed by:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest jamo info help
For legacy JGI metagenomes, this usually works better than raw_normal spid:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest \
jamo info all pmoid <img_jgi_project_id>
If you only want FASTQ rows, filter the output:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest \
jamo info all pmoid <img_jgi_project_id> | rg 'fastq(\\.gz)?'
4. Direct taxon-OID lookup is still useful
This queries JAMO by the IMG taxon OID embedded in metadata:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest \
jamo info all custom '{"metadata.gold_data.img_oid": 3300000030, "file_name": {"$regex": ".*fastq(\\\\.gz)?$"}}'
This can recover reads even when the older spid route is blank, but in recent re-audits pmoid recovered many more JGI rows.
5. spid is valid, but not sufficient
If you already have a verified sequencing project ID, this is still worth trying:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest \
jamo info raw_normal spid <gold_its_spid>
But do not stop there. In several JGI cases:
raw_normal spid returned nothing
all pmoid <img_jgi_project_id> returned usable FASTQ records
6. Inspect and fetch the actual file
Inspect one metadata record:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest jamo show <metadata_id>
Fetch a file by filename:
apptainer run docker://doejgi/jamo-dori:latest \
jamo fetch -s dori all filename <file_name>
That prints the staged scratch path, typically under:
/clusterfs/jgi/scratch/dsi/...
Important:
- if the file is already
RESTORED, you can use the staged path immediately
- if the file is
PURGED, jamo fetch only starts the restore; you must wait until the staged path exists and has non-zero size before using it
Simple wait pattern:
while [[ ! -s /clusterfs/jgi/scratch/dsi/.../file.fastq.gz ]]; do sleep 10; done
Practical rule
For JGI metagenome read recovery, use this priority:
jamo info all pmoid <img_jgi_project_id>
jamo info all custom '{"metadata.gold_data.img_oid": ...}'
jamo info raw_normal spid <gold_its_spid>
Do not assume "no reads" until all three have been checked.
Do not assume a fetched file is ready until the staged path is actually restored.
Portal Downloads (Mycocosm / Phytozome)
The portal tracks downloadable files for Mycocosm and Phytozome in
"portal-db-1".portal.downloadRequestFiles. Use filePath to copy data
from the JGI filesystem (/global/dna/dm_archive/...).
Mycocosm (fungal genomes/proteins):
SELECT filePath, fileType
FROM "portal-db-1".portal.downloadRequestFiles
WHERE LOWER(filePath) LIKE '%mycocosm%'
AND (filePath LIKE '%.fasta%' OR filePath LIKE '%.fa%' OR filePath LIKE '%.faa%')
LIMIT 20;
Phytozome (plant genomes/proteins):
SELECT filePath, fileType
FROM "portal-db-1".portal.downloadRequestFiles
WHERE LOWER(filePath) LIKE '%phytozome%'
AND (filePath LIKE '%.fa%' OR filePath LIKE '%.fna%' OR filePath LIKE '%.faa%')
LIMIT 20;
Download from filesystem:
cp /global/dna/dm_archive/<path/from-filePath> .
Notes:
fileType typically includes Assembly, Annotation, or Sequence.
virtualPath can provide a user-facing download label but filePath is the real location.
Query Best Practices
โ ๏ธ CRITICAL: When building queries, distinguish between exploration and comprehensive analysis:
Exploration Queries
Use LIMIT for quick validation during development:
SELECT gold_id, project_name
FROM "gold-db-2 postgresql".gold.project
WHERE is_public = 'Yes'
LIMIT 10;
Comprehensive Queries
Remove LIMIT and other result-limiting clauses when answering actual questions:
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT taxon_oid)
FROM "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.taxon
WHERE genome_type = 'metagenome'
AND is_public = 'Yes';
Common pitfalls:
- โ
LIMIT 100 on initial exploration โ assumes only 100 results exist
- โ
LIMIT 50 on a "find all" query โ misses 99% of data
- โ Using
FETCH FIRST N ROWS โ same issue as LIMIT
Best practice:
- Use
LIMIT with COUNT(*) or small LIMIT during development
- Once query logic is correct, remove LIMIT to get true results
- For very large result sets, use aggregation (COUNT, GROUP BY) to summarize instead
Common Queries
Find Bacterial Isolate Genomes
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT taxon_oid) as total_isolates
FROM "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.taxon
WHERE domain = 'Bacteria'
AND genome_type = 'isolate'
AND is_public = 'Yes'
AND seq_status = 'Finished';
SELECT taxon_oid, taxon_display_name, phylum, genus, species
FROM "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.taxon
WHERE domain = 'Bacteria'
AND genome_type = 'isolate'
AND is_public = 'Yes'
AND seq_status = 'Finished'
LIMIT 100;
Link GOLD Project to IMG Taxon
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT t.taxon_oid) as total_linked
FROM "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.taxon t
WHERE t.sequencing_gold_id IS NOT NULL;
Find Genomes with File Paths (Portal)
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT taxonOid) as total_tar_gz
FROM "portal-db-1".portal.downloadRequestFiles
WHERE taxonOid IS NOT NULL
AND filePath LIKE '%.tar.gz';
Critical Pitfalls
| Wrong | Correct |
|---|
Using LIMIT in comprehensive queries | Remove LIMIT when answering actual questions; use COUNT() for aggregation |
Join ncbi_assembly on project_id | ncbi_assembly has no project_id; use bioproject or biosample |
project.ecosystem | Join study via master_study_id |
SHOW SCHEMAS IN "source" | Works, but some syntax errors in older Dremio |
| Get sequences from Lakehouse | Download from JGI filesystem |
sra_experiment_v2.platform | Use library_instrument |
gene_ko_terms = 'K00025' | Use gene_ko_terms = 'KO:K00025' |
Join NUMG on gene_oid only | Join on both oid and gene_oid |
| Case-normalizing large function tables | Use exact normalized values (pfam00001, COG1389, etc.) |
| Isolate benchmark counts vary | Add obsolete_flag = 'No' and is_public = 'Yes' |
IMG.gene_feature fails expansion | Fallback to "img-db-2 postgresql".img_core_v400.* tables |
show_schemas() misses sources | Use higher limit (e.g. show_schemas(limit=2000)) |
Authentication
export DREMIO_PAT=$(cat ~/.secrets/dremio_pat)
Token setup: See docs/authentication.md
API Access
REST API Base: http://lakehouse-1.jgi.lbl.gov:9047/api/v3
from rest_client import query
results = query("SELECT * FROM ... LIMIT 10")
Arrow Flight (Python)
For higher-performance programmatic access, use Arrow Flight with Python.
python3 -m venv venv
. venv/bin/activate
pip install \
https://github.com/dremio-hub/arrow-flight-client-examples/releases/download/dremio-flight-python-v1.1.0/dremio_flight-1.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
Full guide: docs/arrow-flight-python.md
Documentation
IMG Reference
- docs/img_and_gold_terms.md - IMG/GOLD glossary: all terms, project types, quality flags, IDs, sequencing status, taxonomy systems
- docs/IMG_data_types.md - Guide to analysis project types (isolates, MAGs, SAGs, metagenomes) with query patterns and data type counts
- docs/IMG-tables-reference.md - Complete IMG table catalog (244 tables in img_core_v400)
- docs/explore_IMG_genomes.md - Genome metadata queries: NCBI/GTDB taxonomy, genome size, GC content, quality filters
Lakehouse Catalog & SQL
- docs/data-catalog.md - All data sources and key tables (GOLD, IMG, Portal, Mycocosm, Phytozome, NUMG)
- docs/phytozome.md - Phytozome plant genomics: proteomes, genes, families, PFAM/PANTHER/GO, expression, synteny, homologs
- docs/sql-quick-reference.md - Dremio SQL syntax
Access & Downloads