Myosin-I nomenclature

We suggest that the vertebrate myosin-I field adopt a common nomenclature system based on the names adopted by the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). At present, the myosin-I nomenclature is very confusing; not only are several systems in use, but several different genes have been given the same name. Despite their faults, we believe that the names adopted by the HUGO nomenclature group for genome annotation are the best compromise, and we recommend universal adoption.     

Guidelines for the nomenclature of the human heat shock proteins

The expanding number of members in the various human heat shock protein (HSP) families and the inconsistencies in their nomenclature have often led to confusion. Here, we propose new guidelines for the nomenclature of the human HSP families, HSPH (HSP110), HSPC (HSP90), HSPA (HSP70), DNAJ (HSP40), and HSPB (small HSP) as well as for the human chaperonin families HSPD/E (HSP60/HSP10) and CCT (TRiC). The nomenclature is based largely on the more consistent nomenclature assigned by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee and used in the National Center of Biotechnology Information Entrez Gene database for the heat shock genes. In addition to this nomenclature, we provide a list of the human Entrez Gene IDs and the corresponding Entrez Gene IDs for the mouse orthologs.     

Towards a unified nomenclature describing voltage-gated calcium channel genes

A unified nomenclature for describing voltage-gated calcium channel genes is proposed. The terminology has been approved by the HUGO/GDB nomenclature committee. Received: 5 February 1997 / Accepted: 4 April 1997     

An update of the S100 nomenclature

The plethora of names given to S100 proteins resulted in considerable confusion. Here we present the official and updated nomenclature of this protein family, approved by the HGNC (HUGO gene nomenclature committee) and ECS (European Calcium Society).     

Systematic nomenclature for the PLUNC/PSP/BSP30/SMGB proteins as a subfamily of the BPI fold-containing superfamily

We present the BPIFAn/BPIFBn systematic nomenclature for the PLUNC (palate lung and nasal epithelium clone)/PSP (parotid secretory protein)/BSP30 (bovine salivary protein 30)/SMGB (submandibular gland protein B) family of proteins, based on an adaptation of the SPLUNCn (short PLUNCn)/LPLUNCn (large PLUNCn) nomenclature. The nomenclature is applied to a set of 102 sequences which we believe represent the current reliable data for BPIFA/BPIFB proteins across all species, including marsupials and birds. The nomenclature will be implemented by the HGNC (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee).     

New nomenclature for mammalian BSP genes

BSP proteins and their homologs are a family of structurally related proteins characterized by the presence of tandem fibronectin type II domains. In the bovine species, BSP proteins were shown to be involved in sperm capacitation, a posttesticular maturation event necessary for sperm to acquire the ability to fertilize an oocyte. Recently, many new genes from this family have been discovered in numerous mammalian species. However, inconsistency in the nomenclature is creating much confusion. In light of the rapid growth of the BSP superfamily of proteins, we propose a new nomenclature in collaboration with the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee.     

A revised nomenclature for mammalian acyl-CoA thioesterases/hydrolases

Acyl-CoA thioesterases, also known as acyl-CoA hydrolases, are a group of enzymes that hydrolyze CoA esters such as acyl-CoAs (saturated, unsaturated, branched-chain), bile acid-CoAs, CoA esters of prostaglandins, etc., to the corresponding free acid and CoA. However, there is significant confusion regarding the nomenclature of these genes. In agreement with the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee and the Mouse Genomic Nomenclature Committee, a revised nomenclature for mammalian acyl-CoA thioesterases/hydrolases has been suggested for the 12 member family. The family root symbol is ACOT, with human genes named ACOT1-ACOT12, and rat and mouse genes named Acot1-Acot12. Several of the ACOT genes are the result of splicing events, and these splice variants are cataloged.     

Nomenclature report on the major histocompatibility complex genes and alleles of Great Ape, Old and New World monkey species

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a central role in the adaptive immune response. The MHC region is characterised by a high gene density, and most of these genes display considerable polymorphism. Next to humans, non-human primates (NHP) are well studied for their MHC. The present nomenclature report provides the scientific community with the latest nomenclature guidelines/rules and current implemented nomenclature revisions for Great Ape, Old and New World monkey species. All the currently published MHC data for the different Great Ape, Old and New World monkey species are archived at the Immuno Polymorphism Database (IPD)-MHC NHP database. The curators of the IPD-MHC NHP database are, in addition, responsible for providing official designations for newly detected polymorphisms.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vive la différence</Emphasis>: naming structural variants in the human reference genome

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee has approved gene symbols for the majority of protein-coding genes on the human reference genome. To adequately represent regions of complex structural variation, the Genome Reference Consortium now includes alternative representations of some of these regions as part of the reference genome. Here, we describe examples of how we name novel genes in these regions and how this nomenclature is displayed on our website, http://genenames.org.     

FELASA guidelines for the production and nomenclature of transgenic rodents

The standardized nomenclature of rodent strains, genes and mutations has long been the focus of careful attention. Its aim is to provide proper designation of laboratory animals used in research projects and to convey as much information on each strain as possible. Since the development of different techniques to mutate the genome of laboratory rodents on a large scale, the correct application of current nomenclature systems is of increased significance. It facilitates not only the accurate communication of scientific results but is indispensable in controlling the dramatically increased number of transgenic animal models in experimental units, archives and databases. It is regrettable that many publications, especially on transgenic rodents, use vague and inappropriate strain designation. This situation should definitely be improved, particularly considering the increasingly emphasized importance of genetic background on the phenotype of mutations. The aim of these guidelines is to raise awareness about specific features of production and of the current nomenclature system used for transgenic rodents.     

Community Intelligence in Knowledge Curation: An Application to Managing Scientific Nomenclature

Harnessing community intelligence in knowledge curation bears significant promise in dealing with communication and education in the flood of scientific knowledge. As knowledge is accumulated at ever-faster rates, scientific nomenclature, a particular kind of knowledge, is concurrently generated in all kinds of fields. Since nomenclature is a system of terms used to name things in a particular discipline, accurate translation of scientific nomenclature in different languages is of critical importance, not only for communications and collaborations with English-speaking people, but also for knowledge dissemination among people in the non-English-speaking world, particularly young students and researchers. However, it lacks of accuracy and standardization when translating scientific nomenclature from English to other languages, especially for those languages that do not belong to the same language family as English. To address this issue, here we propose for the first time the application of community intelligence in scientific nomenclature management, namely, harnessing collective intelligence for translation of scientific nomenclature from English to other languages. As community intelligence applied to knowledge curation is primarily aided by wiki and Chinese is the native language for about one-fifth of the world’s population, we put the proposed application into practice, by developing a wiki-based English-to-Chinese Scientific Nomenclature Dictionary (ESND; http://esnd.big.ac.cn). ESND is a wiki-based, publicly editable and open-content platform, exploiting the whole power of the scientific community in collectively and collaboratively managing scientific nomenclature. Based on community curation, ESND is capable of achieving accurate, standard, and comprehensive scientific nomenclature, demonstrating a valuable application of community intelligence in knowledge curation.     

Using standard nomenclature to adequately name transgenes,knockout gene alleles and any mutation associated to a genetically modified mouse strain

Mice provide an unlimited source of animal models to study mammalian gene function and human diseases. The powerful genetic modification toolbox existing for the mouse genome enables the creation of, literally, thousands of genetically modified mouse strains, carrying spontaneous or induced mutations, transgenes or knock-out/knock-in alleles which, in addition, can exist in hundreds of different genetic backgrounds. Such an immense diversity of individuals needs to be adequately annotated, to ensure that the most relevant information is kept associated with the name of each mouse line, and hence, the scientific community can correctly interpret and benefit from the reported animal model. Therefore, rules and guidelines for correctly naming genes, alleles and mouse strains are required. The Mouse Genome Informatics Database is the authoritative source of official names for mouse genes, alleles, and strains. Nomenclature follows the rules and guidelines established by the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice. Herewith, both from the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) and from the scientific journal Transgenic Research, we would like to encourage all our colleagues to adhere and follow adequately the standard nomenclature rules when describing mouse models. The entire scientific community using genetically modified mice in experiments will benefit.     

Genew: the Human Gene Nomenclature Database

Genew, the Human Gene Nomenclature Database, is the only resource that provides data for all human genes which have approved symbols. It is managed by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) as a confidential database, containing over 16 000 records, 80% of which are represented on the Web by searchable text files. The data in Genew are highly curated by HGNC editors and gene records can be searched on the Web by symbol or name to directly retrieve information on gene symbol, gene name, cytogenetic location, OMIM number and PubMed ID. Data are integrated with other human gene databases, e.g. GDB, LocusLink and SWISS-PROT, and approved gene symbols are carefully co-ordinated with the Mouse Genome Database (MGD). Approved gene symbols are available for querying and browsing at http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/nomenclature/searchgenes.pl.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel human kinase gene,PDIK1L

We isolated a 4301-bp cDNA from a human foetal brain cDNA library by high-throughput cDNA sequencing. It encodes a protein of 341 amino acids, which shows 69% identity with the human kinase CLIK1 (AAL99353), which was suggested to be the CLP-36 interacting kinase. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that the putative kinase may interact with PDZ and LIM domain proteins. Therefore the protein and its cDNA were named ’PDLIM1 interacting kinase 1 like’ (PDIK1L; nomenclature approved by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee). Ensembl Genome Browser locatedPDIK1L to human chromosome 1p35.3. It spans about 13.7 kb and consists of four exons and three introns. Multiple-tissue cDNA panel PCR revealed that the gene is expressed widely in human tissues: liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, thymus and prostate. The protein appears to be localized to the nucleus.     

Proposed nomenclature for microhaplotypes

Microhaplotypes are a new type of genetic marker in forensics and population genetics. A standardized nomenclature is desirable. A simple approach that does not require a central authority for approval is proposed. The nomenclature proposed follows the recommendation of the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (http://www.genenames.org): “We strongly encourage naming families and groups of genes related by sequence and/or function using a “root” symbol. This is an efficient and informative way to name related genes, and already works well for a number of established gene families…” The proposal involves a simple root consisting of “mh” followed by the two-digit chromosome number and unique characters established by the authors in the initial publication. We suggest the unique symbol be an indication of the laboratory followed by characters unique to the chromosome and laboratory. For instance, the microhaplotype symbol mh01KK-001 refers to a locus on chromosome 1 published by the Kidd Lab (KK-) as their #001. Publication defines mh01KK-001 as comprised of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs4648344, rs6663840, rs58111155, and rs6688969.     

Nomenclature of the ARID family of DNA-binding proteins

The ARID is an ancient DNA-binding domain that is conserved throughout the evolution of higher eukaryotes. The ARID consensus sequence spans about 100 amino acid residues, and structural studies identify the major groove contact site as a modified helix-turn-helix motif. ARID-containing proteins exhibit a range of cellular functions, including participation in chromatin remodeling, and regulation of gene expression during cell growth, differentiation, and development. A subset of ARID family proteins binds DNA specifically at AT-rich sites; the remainder bind DNA nonspecifically. Orthologs to each of the seven distinct subfamilies of mammalian ARID-containing proteins are found in insect genomes, indicating the minimum age for the organization of these higher metazoan subfamilies. Many of these ancestral genes were duplicated and fixed over time to yield the 15 ARID-containing genes that are found in the human, mouse, and dog genomes. This paper describes a nomenclature, recommended by the Mouse Genomic Nomenclature Committee (MGNC) and accepted by the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) Gene Nomenclature Committee, for these mammalian ARID-containing genes that reflects this evolutionary history.     

A guide to the pronunciation of the scientific names for harmful algae

A historical review of scientific nomenclature and ofthe pronunciation of classical languages suggests thatthere is no objectively correct way to enunciate thetechnical terms applied to harmful algae. Any guideto pronunciation is always relative to some group ofspeakers; scientific nomenclature is an artificialconstruct without a population of normative speakers,living or dead, to whom the bewildered enunciator canhave reference. Thus a key to the pronunciation ofthe Latin and Greek scientific terms in alldisciplines, and a fortiori to the pronunciation ofthose terms applied to harmful algae, must be based onrules of common sense, mutual forbearance, and generalintelligibility. This article includes a guide topronouncing the names of harmful algae based on theseprinciples.     

Rules and guidelines for genetic nomenclature in mice: excerpted version

The unique identification of genes and mouse strains is critical to their identification in research and in the scientific literature. Rules for genetic nomenclature in mice have existed since the 1940s. The latest complete revision of the rules was approved by the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice in November, 1993. Minor revisions have occurred since. The complete, current rules are available on-line from The Jackson Laboratory's Mouse Genome Database (MGD), URL: http://www.informatics.jax.org. A printed version appeared in Mouse Genome 92 (2), June, 1994, and in Genetic Variants and Strains of the Laboratory Mouse, 3rd edition (Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice, 1996a,b,c). The excerpted version below gives the general guidelines for naming and symbolizing mouse genes, transgenes and transgenic strains, targeted mutations and DNA markers. More detailed guidelines, including revisions as they are made, may be found at the MGD Web site given above. Subparagraphs are numbered as in the complete guidelines so that the user can refer easily from this excerpted version to the full text. Textual references to paragraphs not included here may be found in the full text as well     

Characterization of the human 36-kDa carboxyl terminal LIM domain protein (hCLIM1)

We characterized a human cDNA clone encoding a 36-kDa carboxyl terminal LIM domain protein with a PDZ domain at the amino terminal. This full-length cDNA clone has a predicted open reading frame (ORF) of 329 amino-acid residues. The ORF of this cDNA encodes the human homolog of rat CLP36, and the putative protein is named human 36-kDa carboxyl terminal LIM domain protein (hCLIM1, nomenclature approved by the HUGO/GDB Nomenclature Committee). The hCLIM1 probe was used to hybridize with poly(A)+ RNA of various human tissues. Strong signals were detected in heart and skeletal muscle; moderate signals were detected in spleen, small intestine, colon, placenta, and lung; weaker levels were detected in liver, thymus, kidney, prostate, and pancreas; and no observable signals were detected in brain, testis, ovary, and peripheral blood leukocytes. The hCLIM1 gene was studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), somatic cell hybrid analysis, and radiation hybrid mapping, and it is located at the human chromosome 10q26.     

Gene family matters: expanding the HGNC resource

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) assigns approved gene symbols to human loci. There are currently over 33,000 approved gene symbols, the majority of which represent protein-coding genes, but we also name other locus types such as non-coding RNAs, pseudogenes and phenotypic loci. Where relevant, the HGNC organise these genes into gene families and groups. The HGNC website http://www.genenames.org/ is an online repository of HGNC-approved gene nomenclature and associated resources for human genes, and includes links to genomic, proteomic and phenotypic information. In addition to this, we also have dedicated gene family web pages and are currently expanding and generating more of these pages using data curated by the HGNC and from information derived from external resources that focus on particular gene families. Here, we review our current online resources with a particular focus on our gene family data, using it to highlight our new Gene Symbol Report and gene family data downloads.