This document specifies information metadata, metrics metadata, clinical data linkage metadata, auxiliary fields, SAM interoperability, protection metadata and programming interfaces of genomic information. It defines:

—     metadata storage and interpretation for the different encapsulation levels as specified in ISO/IEC 23092-1 (in Clause 6);

—     metrics metadata containing sequencing data metrics at the dataset and access unit levels as specified in ISO/IEC 23092-1 (in Clause 7);

—     clinical data linkage metadata stored at the dataset group, dataset and annotation table levels as specified in ISO/IEC 23092-1 (in Clause 8);

—     protection elements providing confidentiality, integrity and privacy rules at the different encapsulation levels as specified in ISO/IEC 23092-1 (in Clause 9);

—     how to associate auxiliary fields to encoded reads (in Clause 10);

—     interfaces to access genomic information coded in compliance with ISO/IEC 23092-1 and ISO/IEC 23092-2 (in Clause 12);

—     mechanisms for backward compatibility with existing SAM content, and exportation to this format (in Annex E).