# how to parse UNITE references for taxonomy assignment with blast?
**URL:** https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858
**Category:** Technical Support
**Created:** [March 21, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858 "2023-03-21T14:38:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gabt](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/gabt)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/1 "2023-03-21T14:38:50Z")
hello people,
i am stuck with my ITS sequences. i know i can use naive bayes, but i also wanted to perform the taxonomy assignment using blast.
so, i am trying to parse the [references files](https://unite.ut.ee/repository.php) that are available in the UNITE database, to use them within the `classify-consensus-blast` function.
the problem seems to be quite straightforward for the SILVA database (see the [RESCRIPt pipeline](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/processing-filtering-and-evaluating-the-silva-database-and-other-reference-sequence-data-with-rescript/15494)) but it looks more tricky for the UNITE database. or i am missing something trivial.
the thing is, i am unable to find a proper `taxonomy` file (as the one they provide in SILVA). i need it to run the following, i.e. importing references, taxonomy file, then run blast:
```auto
conda activate qiime2-2023.2
# import the just created fasta file
qiime tools import \
--input-path /mnt/tables/sequences.fasta \
--output-path /mnt/tables/sequences.qza \
--type 'FeatureData[Sequence]'
# create the qza reference file for the database
qiime tools import \
--input-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_refs_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.fasta \
--output-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_refs_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
--type 'FeatureData[Sequence]'
# create the qza taxonomy file for the database
qiime tools import \
--input-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.txt \
--output-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
--type 'FeatureData[Sequence]'
# run blast
qiime feature-classifier classify-consensus-blast \
--i-query /mnt/tables/sequences.qza \
--i-reference-reads /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_refs_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
--i-reference-taxonomy /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
--p-evalue 0.0001 \
--o-classification /mnt/tables/taxonomy_qiime.qza \
--o-search-results /mnt/tables/top_hits.qza
# export taxonomy
qiime tools export \
--input-path /mnt/tables/taxonomy_qiime.qza \
--output-path /mnt/tables/
```
the problem occurs when i try to import the file `sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.txt` since it's not a fasta file:
```auto
qiime tools import \
--input-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.txt \
--output-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
--type 'FeatureData[Sequence]'
```
so...where or how do i get the information i need?
---
### Author:  [@Keegan-Evans](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/Keegan-Evans)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/3 "2023-03-21T18:10:10Z")
@gabt,
I have reached out to a few of our mods/the RESCRIPt authors about the issue you are having, hopefully one of them will reply to you soon here!
---
### Author:  [@Keegan-Evans](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/Keegan-Evans)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/6 "2023-03-21T18:14:12Z")
@gabt,
Looks like: [pre-trained UNITE ITS classifiers for QIIME 2024.5 (and older!)](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/pre-trained-unite-9-0-classifiers-for-qiime-2023-2-and-older/24140) should get you going!
---
### Author:  [@Nicholas\_Bokulich](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/Nicholas_Bokulich)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2023, 6:14am UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/7 "2023-03-22T06:14:57Z")
Hi @gabt ,
Your workflow should work, except you are importing the taxonomy as the wrong semantic type here:
> [@gabt](#):
>
> ```auto
> # create the qza taxonomy file for the database
> qiime tools import \
> --input-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.txt \
> --output-path /mnt/database_references/unite/developer/sh_taxonomy_qiime_ver9_dynamic_29.11.2022_dev.qza \
> --type 'FeatureData[Sequence]'
>
> ```
It should be `FeatureData[Taxonomy]`
You can see the q2-feature-classifier tutorials on [docs.qiime2.org](http://docs.qiime2.org) for more details on this process, but otherwise everything else looks okay.
Good luck!
---
### Author:  [@gabt](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/gabt)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2023, 7:06am UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/8 "2023-03-22T07:06:10Z")
@Nicholas_Bokulich yes, this is what i need. I overlooked this `FeatureData[Taxonomy]` thing, so thank you for pointing in out!
---
### Author:  [@gabt](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/gabt)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2023, 7:08am UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/9 "2023-03-22T07:08:07Z")
@Keegan-Evans thanks for the resource, but i like the DIY solution best since it does not require other people's doing the job for me 🙂
---
### Author:  [@gabt](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/gabt)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2023, 7:09am UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/10 "2023-03-22T07:09:06Z")
@Keegan-Evans thanks for doing this, let's see if they will get back at you because i would be very happy to have a solution using RESCRIPt, too.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/how-to-parse-unite-references-for-taxonomy-assignment-with-blast/25858/11 "2023-04-22T13:09:38Z")
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