Making changes to mapping file midway through analysis

[Angela Zou]

Hello,

If I were to add an extra column of information (ex. age, treatment, etc) to the mapping fire after split libraries step or even after picking the otu step, right before the diversity analysis, will that affect anything? Thanks!

[Colin Brislawn]

Hello Angela,

Adding an extra column with more info will work fine. This is a great way to make use of more data during beta diversity analysis.

After adding columns, you could run validate_mapping_file.py to make sure your new data is in a compatible format.

http://qiime.org/scripts/validate_mapping_file.html

Colin