Is working with and relying on old genome builds still valid?For example NCBI36/hg18. Would results from papers based on old builds require LiftOver and re-analysis to be useful?^ This post might be too broad, off topic, but would like to know your views.EDIT:A bit of context, this is related to other post, where we have aCGH results based on old build: ArrayCGH single sample result validation
Working with old genome builds
human genome;array cgh;liftover;hg18
In my opinion, it is not very reliable. LiftOver is very limited in terms of transformations it can support. The LiftOver Chain format can capture only matching regions in the same order. It means that it can account for indels, but even simple structural variations become problematic.For instance, when a newer assembly is available, it is usually a recommended practice to remap all the reads rather than transform the existing alignments.