# Bio Expression Matrix Counts Ingest

> Load gene expression count matrices from various formats including CSV, TSV, featureCounts, Salmon, kallisto, and 10X. Use when importing quantification results for downstream analysis.

- Skill: `tools-only/bio-expression-matrix-counts-ingest` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add tools-only/bio-expression-matrix-counts-ingest`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/bio-expression-matrix-counts-ingest/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Data & Analytics
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/bio-expression-matrix-counts-ingest

---


## Version Compatibility

Reference examples tested with: pandas 2.2+

Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
- Python: `pip show <package>` then `help(module.function)` to check signatures
- R: `packageVersion('<pkg>')` then `?function_name` to verify parameters

If code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed
package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.

# Count Matrix Ingestion

## Basic CSV/TSV Loading

**Goal:** Load a gene expression count matrix from a delimited text file into a pandas DataFrame.

**Approach:** Read CSV/TSV with gene IDs as the row index, handling comment lines if present.

**"Load my count matrix"** → Read a delimited file into a DataFrame with genes as rows and samples as columns.

```python
import pandas as pd

# TSV with gene IDs as first column
counts = pd.read_csv('counts.tsv', sep='\t', index_col=0)

# CSV with header
counts = pd.read_csv('counts.csv', index_col=0)

# Skip comment lines
counts = pd.read_csv('counts.txt', sep='\t', index_col=0, comment='#')
```

## featureCounts Output

**Goal:** Parse featureCounts output into a clean count matrix by stripping metadata columns.

**Approach:** Skip the 6 annotation columns (Chr, Start, End, Strand, Length) and clean BAM path suffixes from column names.

```python
import pandas as pd

# featureCounts format has 6 metadata columns before counts
fc = pd.read_csv('featurecounts.txt', sep='\t', comment='#')
counts = fc.set_index('Geneid').iloc[:, 5:]  # Skip Chr, Start, End, Strand, Length
counts.columns = [c.replace('.bam', '').split('/')[-1] for c in counts.columns]
```

## Salmon Quant Files

**Goal:** Combine per-sample Salmon quantification files into a single count or TPM matrix.

**Approach:** Iterate over quant directories, extract the desired column from each quant.sf, and merge into a DataFrame.

```python
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path

def load_salmon_quants(quant_dirs, column='NumReads'):
    '''Load multiple Salmon quant.sf files into a count matrix.'''
    dfs = {}
    for qdir in quant_dirs:
        sample = Path(qdir).name
        sf = pd.read_csv(f'{qdir}/quant.sf', sep='\t', index_col=0)
        dfs[sample] = sf[column]
    return pd.DataFrame(dfs)

# Usage
quant_dirs = ['salmon_out/sample1', 'salmon_out/sample2', 'salmon_out/sample3']
counts = load_salmon_quants(quant_dirs, column='NumReads')
tpm = load_salmon_quants(quant_dirs, column='TPM')
```

## kallisto Abundance Files

**Goal:** Combine per-sample kallisto abundance files into a single count or TPM matrix.

**Approach:** Read each abundance.tsv, extract the target column, and assemble into a DataFrame keyed by sample name.

```python
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path

def load_kallisto_quants(abundance_files, column='est_counts'):
    '''Load multiple kallisto abundance.tsv files.'''
    dfs = {}
    for f in abundance_files:
        sample = Path(f).parent.name
        ab = pd.read_csv(f, sep='\t', index_col=0)
        dfs[sample] = ab[column]
    return pd.DataFrame(dfs)

# Usage
files = ['kallisto_out/sample1/abundance.tsv', 'kallisto_out/sample2/abundance.tsv']
counts = load_kallisto_quants(files, column='est_counts')
tpm = load_kallisto_quants(files, column='tpm')
```

## 10X Genomics Sparse Matrix

**Goal:** Load single-cell count data from 10X Genomics format (MTX directory or H5 file).

**Approach:** Use scanpy to read the sparse matrix with gene and barcode metadata into an AnnData object.

```python
import scanpy as sc

# Load 10X directory (contains matrix.mtx, genes.tsv/features.tsv, barcodes.tsv)
adata = sc.read_10x_mtx('filtered_feature_bc_matrix/')

# Load 10X H5 file
adata = sc.read_10x_h5('filtered_feature_bc_matrix.h5')

# Convert to dense DataFrame if needed
counts = adata.to_df()
```

## AnnData H5AD Files

**Goal:** Load preprocessed expression data stored in the AnnData H5AD format.

**Approach:** Read the H5AD file with scanpy and access the count matrix, raw layer, or metadata as needed.

```python
import anndata as ad
import scanpy as sc

# Load h5ad
adata = sc.read_h5ad('data.h5ad')

# Access count matrix
counts = adata.to_df()  # Dense DataFrame
sparse_counts = adata.X  # Sparse matrix (if stored sparse)

# Access raw counts if normalized data is in .X
raw_counts = adata.raw.to_adata().to_df()
```

## RDS Files (from R)

**Goal:** Load R-serialized count data into Python.

**Approach:** Use pyreadr to read RDS files directly into a pandas DataFrame.

```python
import pyreadr

# Read RDS file
result = pyreadr.read_r('counts.rds')
counts = result[None]  # Access the data

# For Seurat objects, use anndata2ri or convert in R first
```

## Combine Multiple Files

**Goal:** Merge per-sample count files into a single genes-by-samples matrix.

**Approach:** Glob matching files, read the first data column from each, and concatenate into a DataFrame.

```python
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path

def combine_count_files(file_pattern, index_col=0, sep='\t'):
    '''Combine multiple count files into one matrix.'''
    files = sorted(Path('.').glob(file_pattern))
    dfs = {}
    for f in files:
        sample = f.stem.replace('_counts', '')
        dfs[sample] = pd.read_csv(f, sep=sep, index_col=index_col).iloc[:, 0]
    return pd.DataFrame(dfs)

# Usage
counts = combine_count_files('counts/*_counts.tsv')
```

## Filter Low-Count Genes

**Goal:** Remove genes with insufficient expression to reduce noise in downstream analysis.

**Approach:** Apply count and sample-number thresholds to retain only reliably detected genes.

```python
# Keep genes with at least 10 counts in at least 3 samples
min_counts, min_samples = 10, 3
expressed = (counts >= min_counts).sum(axis=1) >= min_samples
counts_filtered = counts.loc[expressed]

# Alternative: total counts threshold
counts_filtered = counts[counts.sum(axis=1) >= 50]
```

## Handle Gene ID Versions

**Goal:** Strip Ensembl version suffixes for consistent ID matching across datasets.

**Approach:** Split on the dot separator and keep only the stable identifier prefix.

```python
# Remove Ensembl version numbers (ENSG00000123456.12 -> ENSG00000123456)
counts.index = counts.index.str.split('.').str[0]

# Or keep as-is for compatibility
```

## Save Count Matrix

**Goal:** Export a count matrix in formats suitable for downstream tools or archival.

**Approach:** Write as TSV, compressed TSV, or AnnData H5AD depending on the target workflow.

```python
# Save as TSV
counts.to_csv('count_matrix.tsv', sep='\t')

# Save as compressed
counts.to_csv('count_matrix.tsv.gz', sep='\t', compression='gzip')

# Save as AnnData
import anndata as ad
adata = ad.AnnData(counts)
adata.write_h5ad('counts.h5ad')
```

## R Loading Equivalents

**Goal:** Load count data in R from common formats including featureCounts and Salmon/kallisto via tximport.

**Approach:** Use base R read functions or tximport for pseudo-alignment outputs.

```r
# Basic CSV/TSV
counts <- read.csv('counts.csv', row.names=1)
counts <- read.delim('counts.tsv', row.names=1)

# featureCounts
fc <- read.delim('featurecounts.txt', comment.char='#', row.names=1)
counts <- fc[, 6:ncol(fc)]

# tximport for Salmon/kallisto
library(tximport)
files <- file.path('salmon_out', samples, 'quant.sf')
txi <- tximport(files, type='salmon', txOut=TRUE)
counts <- txi$counts
```

## Related Skills

- rna-quantification/featurecounts-counting - Generate featureCounts output
- rna-quantification/alignment-free-quant - Generate Salmon/kallisto output
- expression-matrix/sparse-handling - Memory-efficient storage
- expression-matrix/gene-id-mapping - Convert gene identifiers